Overshadowed
by zuffoodles
Summary: Grayshadow, daughter of Icestar and Petalwhisker, is living in another clan. She is always labeled as not perfect, a terrible cat, a worthless, stupid ball of useless fur. Her false sister, Moonlight, recieves all attention, sleek-furred and beautiful. When an ominous prophecy hangs over their heads, what can Grayshadow do to stop the Moonlight from destroying all the Shadows?(R&R)
1. Half an Ear

ALLIEGANCES

RainClan

Leader- Robinstar- Pale sandy-ginger she-cat (Brilliant Green)-8 lives

Deputy- Frostheart- Thick-furred silver top with white eartips (Blue)

Medicine Cat- Darkflower- Cross black she-cat with a white splotch on her chest. (Hazel)- Gracepaw

Warriors- Dovefeather- Gentle light gray she-cat with darker flecks on her face (Blue)

Rowanflame- Burnt- ginger colored tom (Green)

Larksong- Extremely kind white she-cat with a darker side if threatened (Green)- Dawnpaw

Blackstream- Glossy black she-cat with white ears and tail (Blue)

Sunstream- Swift tan tom (Golden-Brown)

Mossyleaf- Brown-and-black speckled tom (Amber)- Flintpaw

Stormbird- Blue-gray snappy tom with a will to fight (Smoldering Blue)- Thistlepaw

Ambergaze- Cross black tabby she-cat (Cold Amber)

Morningmist- Fluffy light-gray she-cat with white-tipped fur that makes her appearance similar to that of a cloud (Blue)

Firestorm- Bulky and muscular ginger tabby tom (Blazing Green)

Apprentices- Gracepaw- Sleek and beautiful light gray she-cat (Blue)

Thistlepaw- Grumpy gray and white patched tom (Amber)

Dawnpaw- Milky-cream colored she-cat (Blue)

Flintpaw- Sharp-sensed black tom (Amber)

Queens- Feathermist- Sleek silver tabby she-cat (Pretty Gray)

Mate: Frostheart Kits: Moonkit, Graykit

Leopardleaf- Spotted black she-cat (Green)

Mate: Stormbird Kits: Ivykit, Snakekit, Bramblekit

Kits- Moonkit- beautiful sleek silver tabby she-kit; gets all the attention (Dashing Blue)

Graykit- Dull gray small, but muscular scruffy she-kit, fur shines in the sunlight (Dull Amber)

Ivykit- Gray-and-white she-kit (Green)

Snakekit- Brown tabby tom, secretly admires Graykit (Amber)

Bramblekit- Joyful dark brown tabby tom (Blue)

Elders- Whiskerstone- Quiet, old gray tabby tom (Blue)

Ravenwhisper- Tufted old gray she-cat, sympathetic (Green)

 _Chapter One_

Feathermist groaned in agony, her stomach convulsing. Her mate, also the deputy, was by her side, eyes wild. She felt something slip out, and the pain subsided for a little bit. Darkflower, the medicine cat, nipped the kitting sac and groomed the little kit until she convulsed and wailed. The she-kit was a dull gray, and Feathermist immediately hissed, "Graykit."

There was a groan from her as the last kit slid out. This kit was weak and delicate, and it took all Darkflower's skill to make it breathe. Feathermist sighted in relief as the other kit began to suckle, squeaking as she did.

~Timeskip~

Graykit stared at her sister grumpily. After almost a moon of bickering, her parents had named her Moonkit, which she knew was against the warrior code. She sat off in the corner of the nest while her mother cooed over Moonkit, grooming the she-kit who already had sleek fur. The chilly night air caused Moonkit to snuggle with her mother, and soon they both fell asleep.

Graykit glanced at her own dark gray, tufty fur, and attempted to groom it down. She longed to set paw outside, but oh no, she couldn't. Only Moonkit was allowed outside, and she could go out once Moonkit was in. But Moonkit stayed outside from dawn to dusk, playing with the older kits. She already felt some sort of aggression toward her sister. Feathermist always pampered her, said she was the best and made Graykit feel like a nuisance.

She rose to her paws and glanced around. The night air breathed out on her face, while Feathermist had Moonkit tucked right by her side. Hissing, she slipped out of the nursery, squeaking in joy as she tossed an old scrap of moss in the air.

Nighttime was the only time she was out.

The only time she could play.

The only time she felt good.

Stormbird was sitting guars at the entrance, paying no attention to the young kit playing in the shadows. She figured that her dark pelt blended with it. She turned and glanced at Stormbird. The young tom's eyes flashed with alarm, and he opened his mouth to yowl a warning. Graykit tumbled from the shadows, not wanting to be in trouble. Stormbird's eyes flashed with annoyance, and he spat at the little kit.

Flinching, Graykit retreated to the shadows, the only place where other cats couldn't bother her. Vines grew thick here, serving as part of the camp. She sniffed at them, lashing her tiny claws across them, channeling all her anger in one blow. She looked carefully at the vine, where her claws had scored deep scratches across. The sun started to peek out, and she squeaked in alarm.

She ducked behind the vines just as Moonkit tumbled out of the nursery, squealing. Moonkit headed straight for the vines, trying to climb up them, probably as a game. As soon as she started, Ivykit and Bramblekit came bounding out, scurrying up the vines. Graykit shook the vines, grinning as Moonkit squeaked and fell to the ground, along with the others. Moonkit cried defiantly, catching the attention of Feathermist, who came launching herself out of the nursery to her wailing kit. Feathermist checked Moonkit all over, her eyes blazing in rage. Graykit almost jumped in alarm when Feathermist's eyes locked on her gaze.

Defiant, she locked her gaze, narrowing her eyes darkly. Feathermist growled and barked out an order, "Graykit! Out, now!" Graykit slunk out of behind the vines, ears flattened.

Feathermist snarled, "You never do that again! Moonkit would have been hurt!"

Graykit yowled back loudly, "She was only a tail-length up on the vines! No cat can get hurt from falling that far!" Her loud yowl had caught the attention of almost all the cats in the clan. Feathermist snarled, raising her paw. Graykit felt a flash of alarm as she saw her unsheathed claws. As she brought her paw down to cuff her ear, Graykit sprang up, her head smashing into Feathermist's face, before springing off, panting. Feathermist still cuffed her, cutting a large nick in her ear.

Graykit yelped in pain, but didn't flinch.

She sprang away from her mother, hopping into the shadows. Blood trickled from the nick in her ear. She felt it, wincing as the blood stained her fur. Feathermist herded a wailing Moonkit into the nursery, eyes narrowed. She curled up, tucking behind the vines. She frowned defiantly, wishing that the vine she had clawed was Moonkit's face. She sighed, wishing that someone would like her. The blood hadn't dried yet, and was still seeping out. She winced in pain, the cut was ragged and deep, half her ear hung loose from where it originally was. Peeking out, she saw that most of the warriors were gone. She scampered to the medicine cat's den, where Darkflower, hopefully, would treat the wound. All she got was a warning hiss from the inside and was sent scampering by a wounded tom back to the nursery. She crept in hesitantly, Feathermist snarled at her, while Moonkit was still wailing about how her paw 'hurt'.

Graykit flinched backwards as her own mother lunged forward. She yowled as her mother's teeth collided with the torn ear. She squirmed, trying to get loose from her mother's grip. Snakekit was at the edge of his own nest, staring at the mad queen in horror. Graykit screamed in agony as the rest of her ear tore, leaving Feathermist with the scrap of her ear in between her teeth. The fiery pain hurt like nothing ever, and she trashed her head, screeching in agony. Gracepaw slipped in the den, borage in her jaws before she saw the injured kit. The medic apprentice dropped the borage, and picked up the kit in her jaws. Graykit felt the burning pain in her ear, as well as the blood dripping down from her face.

Gracepaw brought her to the den, setting her down in a nest. Darkflower came over, eyes full of concern for the tiny kit. Darkflower whispered to her, "What happened?" Graykit could only wince, her head swimming. Darkflower left the den and soon returned with her father, Frostheart, the deputy. His eyes burned with rage as he saw his kit, with blood trickling down her face. Gracepaw had returned with herbs and cobwebs. Graykit felt the sting of the herb as the poultice was plastered onto her ear. Gracepaw wrapped the cobwebs around it, securing the wound. Frostheart groomed the blood off her face, returning it to the same gray fluff.

He growled, "Who did this to you?"

Graykit managed to get the name out, "F-Feathermist." She flinched at herself saying the name. Frostheart left, tail lashing. He came back with Feathermist, who still looked angry. She heard the hiss of disgust from Feathermist, and flinched backwards. Frostheard moved in front of her, "Would you like to explain, my dear?"

Feathermist growled, "She hurt my precious Moonkit!" Frostheart scoffed.

He licked Graykit gently between the ears, "Yes I saw your argument, Graykit had a point. No cat other than a newborn could ever get hurt from falling a tail-length!"

Feathermist snapped back, "Moonkit is small and fragile, she could have gotten hurt!"

This time Graykit yowled at her, "She's bigger and fatter than me! She's stronger, she gets to go outside, she gets to eat more, she gets to sleep with you! It's like you don't love me!" Feathermist growled at her, claws unsheathed. Graykit knew she was ready to deliver another blow to her. A cough sounded behind Feathermist, a tall sandy she-cat stood at the nursery entrance, her eyes narrowed.

She mewed coolly, "Feathermist, is this true?"

Feathermist stuttered, "W-well, yes…" Graykit saw her mother's ears flattened in shame, but she saw that Feathermist was still glaring at her. Her mother looked away, "Sorry, Robinstar."

Robinstar's eyes relaxed from their narrow, "Well, alright. But, as punishment, Graykit will not share the same nest, or den with you, and you are confined to camp for a moon." She looked as Frostheart, "You will share your nest with Graykit in the deputy den until her apprenticeship." Frostheart nodded, and pretty soon everything else was sorted and only Gracepaw was left in the den. Graykit fell into a fitful sleep, unaware of what her future held for her.


	2. Apprenticeship and Gathering

Chapter 2

Graykit stretched, trembling and feeling relieved. Robinstar kept her promise, and she had seen little Feathermist; and only saw Moonkit if they went out for fresh-kill or to hunt or play. Graykit hopped with excitement, she was more than six moons old, getting in trouble with the others and having to wait an extra moon, she would have her apprentice ceremony at sun-high. Frostheart was curled around her, his thick fur making her hot and uncomfortable, even though Leaf-bare was drawing near. She scrambled out of the den, feeling relieved as the chilly air blew through her fur. It was almost sun-high, she could tell, even though the sky was covered by clouds. She saw Moonkit squeal with delight as a snowflake fell in front of her. Suddenly, the white flakes fell through the air, landing of the camp's floor. Soon, there was a light cover of snow of the ground, but the snow stopped soon, and it left Moonkit throwing up clumps at her friends, Bramblekit and Ivykit.

Snakekit might as well have been her only friend, but her father, two warriors, and the medicine cats, Darkflower and Graceflower all liked her, but no one else. She was busy grooming down her gray fur, wincing as she drew her paw over the ragged ear. She had earned a few scars during her kithood, a scratch marks on her forehead for accidentally bumping into Feathermist, and a scar from Firestorm, a grumpy senior warrior, on her front leg. She looked up as Robinstar yowled, "All cats old enough to climb and swim, gather beneath the Skyrock for a Clan Meeting!" The Clan gathered forward, and she felt the other kits standing beside her, all fidgeting with excitement. She noticed her father watching her in concern, and assumed her eyes still had the dull look in them, as they always had.

Robinstar yowled, "Moonkit, Graykit, Snakekit, Ivykit, and Bramblekit have all reached their sixth moon and are ready for apprenticeship. Moonkit, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Moonpaw, I will mentor you." Graykit scoffed at the look of joy in her sister's eyes. Robinstar continued, "Graykit, until you earn your warrior name you shall be known as Graypaw! Frostheart, I know you are her father, but you have the courage and strength to teach Graypaw!" Robinstar continued the ceremony until there was also Bramblepaw, Ivypaw, and Snakepaw, whose mentors were Blackstream, Dovefeather, and Rowanflame.

The clan started to cheer, "Moonpaw! Graypaw! Bramblepaw! Ivypaw! Snakepaw!"

Robinstar gathered them and headed toward the vines at the edge of the camp. Graypaw was grateful for her short, dense fur that didn't clump up the snow like with Moonpaw's fur. Frostheart told them, "The vines are here to see how far you can scratch, and there are pieces of bark to see how deep you can bite." Graypaw nodded, unsheathing her long, hooked claws. They went from tallest to shortest, Graypaw being last. Moonpaw look both tests, a smug look on her face as all the others couldn't beat her score. But she threw a fit when Snakepaw beat her. Soon, it was Graypaw's turn. Moonpaw sneered in her ear, "Good luck beating me, crowfood!" Glaring at Moonpaw, she turned away. Taking in a breath, and unsheathed her hooked claws. Focusing all her anger in a blow, she cut cleanly and neatly with a hard strike to the vine, cutting it cleanly off its other part. Moonpaw yowled defiantly, "That's not fair! She's stronger than me, not fair. Not fair!" Graypaw growled, shutting out Moonpaw's complaints and yowls. She took the next test, how far she could bite into the bark. She passed with flying colors, cleanly biting the chunk of thick wood off, just like the vine. This caused Moonpaw to get even angrier, she threw a curse at Graypaw, but Graypaw didn't respond, and let Frostheart calculate the results.

Frostheart nodded as Robinstar whispered in his ear, "First, Graypaw! Second, Snakepaw! Third, Moonpaw! Fourth, Ivypaw! Fifth, Bramblepaw!" Moonpaw screeched defiantly, lunging at Graypaw with her claws unsheathed. Graypaw stood still as Moonpaw nicked her ears multiple times over, snarling curses. Suddenly, Graypaw raised a paw and threw Moonpaw down, her muzzle twisted in a snarl.

Graypaw snapped, "Just accept that I'm stronger than you!" Moonpaw snarled, lunging for her again. Graypaw knocked her down with a hefty paw, and pinned her. Graypaw leaned down and growled one word, "Stop." Graypaw released Moonpaw, whose glossy fur was dusted with dirt.

Moonpaw wailed, "You ruined my beautiful fur!"

Graypaw snorted, "And you ruined my ear." She growled at Moonpaw before following Frostheart to the exit of camp, a tunnel of short, stubby trees with brambles wound between and above them. They stopped at a tall and massive birch tree. Frostheart meowed, "this tree is meant for climbing practice, go on. Show me your skill." Graypaw nodded, studying the branches of the tree. Bunching her muscles, she sprang up onto the first branch, then the second, then the third. And soon she was scaling the tree, only stopping when her father told her to stop. He yowled from the ground, "I want you to get down!" Graypaw nodded, but didn't want to get down from her original tree. She looked around, spotting where she could jump tree-to-tree. She sprang for a lower branch on another tree, continuing until she could spring down on the floor. Frostheart nodded in approval, and even leaned forward and licked her tattered ear. Moonpaw and Bramblepaw caught up with them, their mentors joined up with her.

Robinstar yowled, "Moonpaw, Bramblepaw, I want you to try to scale half the Great Birch and get down. Go." Graypaw fidgeted, wanting to feel the wind in her fur. Moonpaw scrambled up to the first branch, wasting her energy by dragging up her weight with her. Robinstar nodded to her, "I know you want to, go ahead and show them what you've done." Graypaw glowed at the praise; maybe her apprenticeship would be better after all. Moonpaw hissed in rage as she fell for the fourth time, Bramblepaw falling by her side. Moonpaw scrambled up the trunk again, her claws hanging in deeply. Graypaw bounded toward the trunk, using her branch leaping technique. She flicked her eyes back and forth, _next, next, left, up._ Soon, she was higher than the half tree mark, and saw Moonpaw attempting her climbing skills, only to fall before she even managed to jump onto the first branch.

Graypaw sat, nestled in the corner of a branch, waiting as the others managed to scramble up to the branch she was resting on. Once again Moonpaw threw up a rage about how it wasn't fair that she was stronger and tried to attack her. This time Graypaw used her tree-jumping, and landed neatly on the tree below. She continued in the same pattern of trees as when she was with Frostheart. She landed a heartbeat to quick however and got another nick in her ear from a nearby bramble. Wincing, she cleaned the cut quickly. She sat beside Frostheart, her ears twitching. The two other apprentices managed to make it down, though panting heavily. Graypaw snorted as they both gave her fierce glares. Frostheart led her away from everyone else. She followed him through the forest, grumbling as the ground underpaw became wetter because of the river. She smelled a sour scent, and curled her lip in disgust. Frostheart did as well, "That's SwiftClan scent. It smells worse than MarshClan!" Graypaw nodded in disgust, following the path along the riverside, relieved when she felt grass and snow on her paws. She was panting slightly by the time they reached the other border.

It was the MarshClan border, also cut off by a somewhat small river. The border smelled of pines and mud, which, was actually not as bad as SwiftClan. Her father nodded at her, "We don't share a border with TreeClan, but you'll see them at the gathering."

Graypaw gasped, "I'm going?"

Frostheart nodded, his eyes bright with amusement. She followed him silently through the rest of the forest, a gathering on her first day as an apprentice! Once they neared camp Frostheart nodded, "Go get a piece of prey and join your denmates. She nodded, her attention focused on a bright blue bird on a branch of an oak tree. Its calls were loud and clear, and without hesitating, she sprang. She neatly grabbed the bird in her jaws, snapping the neck quickly.

Frostheart purred proudly. She bounded toward camp, her catch hung limply in her jaws. She settled down at the apprentices den, ready to tuck into her meal. Suddenly, Moonpaw came and snatched it up, and sniggered, "You should only eat if you've caught something, Graypaw!"

Graypaw just purred, Frostheart stood behind Moonpaw, and leaned down to scold her, "Actually, Graypaw caught that herself, and I don't see any prey that you've caught." Moonpaw jumped with fright, dropping the bird and scooting inside the apprentice's den. Graypaw nodded to Frostheart, a smile tugging at the end of her mouth. She tucked into the bluebird, finishing it with a few bites. She slipped in the den after collecting the clean feathers of the bird. She dropped some by Moonpaw and mumbled, "Here, use those for your nest." She approached her nest, It was faint with the scent of Snakepaw, and there was extra moss tucked around it. Stronger however, was the scent of Moonpaw, and she caught the sight of three thorns in her nest. She flicked them out and muttered, "Honestly Moonpaw, if you're going to pull a prank at least hide your scent!" She weaved the feathers into the moss and bracken, creating a soft and warm nest. She curled up inside it to rest before the gathering.

Graypaw woke sleepily, shaking her head. Robinstar was calling a meeting, and she realized that it was a little past sunset. She scrambled out of her nest, flicking a feather off her pelt. She slipped outside, where more snow covered the ground. Robinstar yowled, "I will announce the cats going to the gathering! Dovefeather, Rowanflame, Blackstream, Thistlethorn, Firestorm, Moonpaw, Graypaw, and Snakepaw! As well as Darkflower, Graceflower, and Frostheart! We will depart immediately!" Robinstar leapt down from the Skyrock, her sandy fur looking powdery white. She followed after Robinstar, thanking StarClan for her short fur. Graypaw leapt over the fallen log that blocked off the entrance for the gathering place, and excitedly, followed Robinstar down a hollow into the clearing below. She recognized the muddy scent of MarshClan immediately, but nothing else. Robinstar joined the MarshClan leader on the tree. Graypaw headed toward the side of the hollow, sitting down on the grass. Suddenly, Snakepaw bounded up to her with two MarshClan apprentices.

He hopped on his paws excitedly, "These two want to see if it's true you can cut through a vine!" The two MarshClan apprentices nodded, one of them looking disbelieving.

Graypaw growled, and rised to her paws, shaking out her pelt, "Fine, fine, where are the vines?" She followed Snakepaw to the other side of the hollow. She growled when she saw Moonpaw with warriors and apprentices gathered around her.

She crowed, "I can bite through wood and cut vines, I can climb the tallest tree in our forest! I mean, I have the leader as my mentor!"

Graypaw snarled at Moonpaw, "How about you prove it like I am?" This caught the attention of Moonpaw, who looked a bit wary about it, but replied, "Bring it on! Frostheart!"

Frostheart came over, and grumbled, "What is it, Moonpaw?"

Graypaw explained that she challenged her to the tests they took before. Frostheart agreed, "If the others don't get here by the time we're done you can have a sparring match." Moonpaw glanced at her smugly, stepping forward with her graceful figure toward the vines. The apprentices from MarshClan were watching, the warriors having abandoned the party. Graypaw sent Snakepaw for the wood. She sat and watched as Moonpaw slashed at the vine, scoring marks on it, the same as earlier in the day. Graypaw stepped forward, and the apprentices watched intently, positive that no one could beat the beautiful she-cat. She headed for a different vine. Graypaw unsheathed her claws, thinking about the rage she felt when she caught Moonpaw lying about how she pulled off the things that Graypaw had done.

She curled her lip, raising a paw with her dark claws out in all their glory, and slashed at the vine, same result as before for her, the leftover vine fell limp on the ground, causing quite a commotion. Still, same as before, Moonpaw spat curses at her. They took the wood test, only this time, the wood was dry, so it splintered in Moonpaw's mouth causing her to complain. The result was the same for Graypaw, biting through the wood chunk.

Graypaw hopped on her paws as Frostheart instructed the climbing part of the tests. He lifted his tail as a signal to start. Graypaw sped past Moonpaw, springing up onto a branch. Moonpaw scrambled up the trunk, clearly having a hard time still with her own body weight. Graypaw felt lighter than a feather, springing through the branches until she felt the wind in her fur at the top. The full moon shone brightly down on her, twinkling like the stars. A gust of wind shook the tree, so she decided to get down. She jumped down the branches, landing neatly on the floor. Frostheart yowled, "Time's up! Graypaw wins!"

SweptClan had arrived, their apprentices watching the tests. Moonpaw scrambled down, her glossy, unscarred fur dirty with bark and dust. Frostheart twitched his tail, "Since TreeClan isn't here, we will start the sparring test!" The apprentices cheered, and she caught snippets of conversation.

"I'm going for Moonpaw."

"Same!"

"Me too!"

Another voice replied to them, "I don't know, that Graypaw looks a bit scary." She pinpointed the voices, coming from four SwiftClan apprentices. She narrowed her eyes at them.

Frostheart called for silence, "Rules, no claws, and only biting if it doesn't break the skin. Begin!"

It was all over in a matter of seconds, Moonpaw leaping for Graypaw, paws outstretched, claws unsheathed partly. Graypaw smacked her down, like earlier, her wide, broad paws filled with strength. She held a struggling Moonpaw down, until Frostheart raised his tail, "Graypaw is the winner!" She released an angry Moonpaw, and padded away from her. She knew automatically that Moonpaw was springing for her, and whipped around, hitting Moonpaw down again.

Graypaw snapped, "When will you learn to stop?"

She padded away from the group, watching as they dispersed, meowing to each other, "I can't believe that mean gray cat won!"

Firestorm looked at the apprentice who said that, "Who, Graypaw? She's a terrible cat. Moonpaw is the one who should have won, not that stuck up furball. I gave her the courtesy of a scar on her front leg."

Graypaw rose, growling, "Yeah, the one you gave me while I was a _kit._ " Firestorm snorted, moving somewhere else. Graypaw settled back down, hurt at what Firestorm had said about her. She set her head on her paws, flattening her tattered ears.

An apprentice whispered, "She looks kinda sad yunno, do you think something happened?"

Another voice joined in, "Maybe, I mean, she looks small and is already scarred. Do you think she had a bad kithood?"

One more voice, "Let's go talk to her." She flicked her ears as she heard the thump of their paws. She looked up, seeing her eyes reflected in theirs. They were still the familiar dull amber, only with a tad bit of sadness in them. One of them flinched at her, his green eyes filled with sympathy. Three cats were in front of her, one gray and black, one black, and one of them gray and white.

The white-and-gray tom mewed, "Uh. Hi?"

She looked back down, "Hi."

The gray and black she-cat bent down, "Are you okay? You look kinda sad."

Graypaw scoffed, "No, I was only hated by my mother, who tore my ear, only had six cats somewhat like me, having my sister get all the attention, getting scarred by other warriors." She found herself spitting out the last part, her claws dug in the ground. The white and gray tom had retreated, as did the black she-cat. Now only the gray-and-black she-cat remained, and sat by her side.

She meowed, "I'm Emberpaw, from MarshClan, I know how you feel. The same thing happens to me. No one in my clan even likes me."

Graypaw mewed, "Oh, sorry to hear that. I'm Graypaw."

Emberpaw purred, "Nice to meet you, don't feel sorry for me, at least none of my clanmates have hurt me before!" Graypaw nodded, relieved that she had at least made a friend. She caught sight of Moonpaw, charming everyone at the gathering.

Robinstar sprang up onto the tree, "Let the Clans gather!" At her yowl, the TreeClan cats flooded the hollow, and their leader sprang up onto the tree with the others. A TreeClan warrior sat down next to her, roughly shoving her aside. Hissing, she shuffled closer to Emberpaw. The TreeClan tom turned his head and faced her, eyes narrowed. She stared back at him, having an angry staring game until one of the leaders stood from their branch. The tom beside her purred, "Mossystar is so beautiful."

Graypaw looked at the leader, who stood tall and proud, "Yeah. More than me." The tom gave her a glance, and she saw him staring at her ears.

He muttered, "Jeez, what happened to you?"

She glared at Moonpaw and growled, "Family." The tom huffed and scooted away from her.

Mossystar started to speak, "We have two new kits, Creek-kit and Streamkit, and we mourn the loss of Silvernose, our oldest elder." She stopped and dipped her head, as well as TreeClan. She started up again, "We have one new warrior, Brokenshadow!" The tom that was mooning over Mossystar stood, puffing out his chest.

The clans chanted around her, "Brokenshadow! Brokenshadow!" She didn't join in, earning a glare from Brokenshadow.

Robinstar stepped forward, and Graypaw sprang into a tree, leaving Emberpaw confused. She balanced on the edge of a thick branch, watching as Robinstar announced their only news, "We have two new apprentices, Moonpaw and Graypaw!"

Graypaw watched as Moonpaw stood, her sleek silver pelt glowing in the moonlight as the cats chanted, "Moonpaw! Graypaw! Moonpaw! Graypaw!" The cats looked puzzled as they saw only Moonpaw, no other cat standing next to her.

Cats hissed from the hollow, "Where's the other cat?" Several others agreed, looking around for the gray apprentice..

From above, she yowled, "Oi." The cats below jumped with fright, glaring up at her.

Robinstar gave her a warning glance, and then warned that they would tolerate no trespassers. The other leaders had nothing to report. Graypaw jumped down from her roost, and touched noses with Emberpaw in farewell. Bounding up the hill, she gave one tired sigh before following the rest of the clan to camp.

 **AN: Yes, I know. Everything is going fast. The thing is most stuff happens toward the end of apprenticeship and during her warrior time, so it'll seem rushed until I get to her late apprenticeship.**

 **QUESTIONS:**

 **Do you think Graypaw will lose:**

 **-her other ear**

 **-an eye**

 **-her friends**

 **-her clan**

 **ALLIEGANCES**

 **RainClan**

 **Leader-** **Robinstar- Pale sandy-ginger she-cat (Brilliant Green)-8 lives- Moonpaw**

 **Deputy-** **Frostheart- Thick-furred silver top with white eartips (Blue)-Graypaw**

 **Medicine Cat-** **Darkflower- Cross black she-cat with a white splotch on her chest. (Hazel)**

 **Graceflower- Sleek and beautiful light gray she-cat (Blue)**

 **Warriors-** **Dovefeather- Gentle light gray she-cat with darker flecks on her face (Blue)-Ivypaw**

 **Rowanflame- Burnt- ginger colored tom (Green)-Snakepaw**

 **Larksong- Extremely kind white she-cat with a darker side if threatened (Green)**

 **Blackstream- Glossy black she-cat with white ears and tail (Blue)-Bramblepaw**

 **Sunstream- Swift tan tom (Golden-Brown)**

 **Mossyleaf- Brown-and-black speckled tom (Amber)**

 **Stormbird- Blue-gray snappy tom with a will to fight (Smoldering Blue)**

 **Ambergaze- Cross black tabby she-cat (Cold Amber)**

 **Morningmist- Fluffy light-gray she-cat with white-tipped fur that makes her appearance similar to that of a cloud (Blue)**

 **Firestorm- Bulky and muscular ginger tabby tom (Blazing Green)**

 **Thistlethorn- Grumpy gray and white patched tom (Amber)**

 **Dawnlight- Milky-cream colored she-cat (Blue)**

 **Flinteyes- Sharp-sensed black tom (Amber)**

 **Feathermist- Sleek silver tabby she-cat (Pretty Gray)**

 **Leopardleaf- Spotted black she-cat (Green)**

 **Apprentices-** **Moonpaw- beautiful sleek silver tabby she-kit; gets all the attention (Dashing Blue)**

 **Graypaw- Dull gray small, but muscular scruffy she-kit, fur shines in the sunlight (Dull Amber)**

 **Ivypaw- Gray-and-white she-kit (Green)**

 **Snakepaw- Brown tabby tom, secretly admires Graykit (Amber)**

 **Bramblepaw- Joyful dark brown tabby tom (Blue)**

 **Elders-** **Whiskerstone- Quiet, old gray tabby tom (Blue)**

 **Ravenwhisper- Tufted old gray she-cat, sympathetic (Green)**


	3. An Eye for a Life

Chapter 3

Graypaw shook out her wet fur, grunting. Frostheart had set her on gruesome training for the past two moons. The river was flowing lazily, but it didn't seem so when she went in for a dip. She settled on the pebbly shore, letting the sun warm her fur. Moonpaw still had received continuous attention, charming everyone with her voice and looks. She opened one eye partly, stiffening as she saw Firestorm's patrol in the distance, consisting of Moonpaw, Robinstar, Rowanflame, and Ambergaze. Thanking her sharp eyesight, she leapt to her paws and hurried to the edge of the river. She glanced back, raising her paw a bit. Thrusting her paw down, she deftly hooked out a fish, quickly ending its life on the shore. She felt the fur on her shoulders bristle as the patrol pass behind her.

Robinstar stopped and twitched an ear at her, "Hello, Graypaw. What are you doing?"

She replied gruffly, "Fishing." She trained her eyes on the water, watching for the sight of a fish. Silver scales flashed in the sunlight, quickly, she hooked out a trout, noticing the faint red line on the side of its body.

Robinstar meowed, "Meet me and Frostheart at the entrance of the camp; we're going to hold your first assessment. You might as well join the patrol while you're at it." Graypaw jumped to her paws, picking up the fresh-kill.

Robinstar raised her tail to stop, "This isn't a hunting patrol, we may share these two fish." Graypaw dropped the trout, taking a small bite from it. Ambergaze and Firestorm shared the trout with her; they took bite while she nervously nibbled at it, not wanting them to think she was greedy. Nervous about patrolling with clanmates that didn't like her, she only ate about two mouthfuls before backing away from the trout. Once they finished, they set out toward the MarshClan border. She watched Moonpaw grimace as she walked through the thick mud, getting her silver fur dirty. She thanked her own odd paws, which were wide and broad with webbing in-between the toes, so she could walk and run on mud easily. She sniffed at the ground, looking for any intruding scent.

Her ears pricked up as Robinstar yowled. She looked behind her, realizing that she was straying from the patrol. Horror swamped over her as she noticed them being attacked, and sunken deep in the mud. Yowling ferociously, she leapt onto the back of a young warrior. He yowled, jumping off from where he was clawing Robinstar's back. Stretching her front legs, she pulled out his legs, causing him to collapse and face-plant into the mud. She winced, seeing that the patrol was being beaten back. She yowled, "Stop!"

The MarshClan cats froze, and a she-cat screamed in fear. Graypaw growled, "Leave or he's dead." The she-cat sprang at her, yowling. But, with her strong paws, Graypaw batted down the small she-cat, who became winded. Knocking out the cat she had pinned, she stalked over to the she-cat and growled in her ear, "Leave." The she-cat nodded in fear, grabbing the tom and dragging him over the border, and the rest of their patrol followed.

Ambergaze, who was lying sideways-half-sunken in mud, hissed, "A cowardly way of ending a battle."

Graypaw growled, "I wasn't about to let them chase you off. Robinstar might be losing a life right now if I didn't do that!" Ambergaze curled her lip, struggling to her paws. The rest of the patrol rose, following Robinstar back to the camp.

~ROBINSTARS P.O.V OOOH~

Robinstar shook her head, spinning with exhaustion. She had overheard Graypaw, would she really have died if Graypaw didn't get that tom under her claws? She glanced back at the patrol, bloodied and battered, except for the apprentices. She looked at Moonpaw, her own apprentice. Her silver fur was unmarked by claws, her paws were coated in mud, but that was all, her eyes glazed with fear. She glanced at Graypaw, the scarred apprentice was unscathed, her paws covered in blood and amber eyes dark with anger. She couldn't help but shudder at the memory of their birth.

 _Robinstar paced at the entrance of the nursery. Feathermist had kitted two kits about three days ago; one gray and the other beautiful silver. She couldn't help but notice the adoring look Feathermist gave to the silver she-kit. Darkflower came out of the nursery, eyes filled with sadness, carrying the gray kit. The young kit wasn't moving; her body had no breath in it. Robinstar's ears pricked up at a yowl from a patrol returning from camp._

 _Frostheart carried another kit, a young gray kit, even smaller and weaker than Feathermist's. He set down the kit, voice wavering, "Take this kit to Feathermist; she won't last the night without something to fill her belly." He then saw his own kit, lying on the ground, unmoving. Robinstar flinched at the look of blazing grief in his eyes._

 _He bent down his head to lick the small, dead kit, before whispering, "I will care for this kit, even if she isn't mine. Feathermist will never know, but I will raise this kit with a family, no matter what. She'll have the name of my other kit, Graykit." He licked the weaker kit, causing her to mewl. Robinstar picked her up, slipping into the nursery where Feathermist was sleeping, not noticing the missing bundle of fur at her belly. Robinstar set her down carefully, and she started to suckle, kneading Feathermist's belly with her paws._

 _As she left, Darkflower edged toward her, until she whispered in her ear, "At night, the Shadows are most useful, but the Moonlight is a curse." Robinstar reeled back in shock, surely the kits didn't need a prophecy hanging over them like an eagle._

END OF ROBINS POV~

Graypaw grunted, licking the blood from her paws. She was getting ready for her assessment, not bothering to clean her tufty fur. She just wanted the blood off her paws, and the crushing guilt to go away. She felt cowardly threatening the life of someone that way, shaking it off; she stood at the camp entrance. Frostheart stood with her, as they waited for Moonpaw. Moonpaw and Robinstar hurried up to the entrance, and Frostheart led them out of camp. He led them through the forest to the river, where they would be swimming. She slid into the water, as did Moonpaw. Graypaw knew the test wasn't speed, but control. She swam to the other side, pushing her broad paws through the water. Turning around, she swam back silently, sliding up onto the shore.

Moonpaw followed after her, blue eyes shining. Frostheart nodded, "You both passed. We're going to do sparring; we'll save hunting for another day." Graypaw fluffed her fur up, excitement prickling in her paws. Surely she would pass this assessment well! They stopped at a small pool of water, where new apprentices practiced swimming. She looked at her reflection. She swished her tail, glad she wasn't completely gray anymore. The fur on her ears and under her eyes had darkened to a black, and the fur around her neck had grown thicker, but her tail slimmer with a small black tuft at the end, like a lion's. Her paws had also turned black, as well as tabby stripes on her back. Her amber eyes had shed their regular dullness, but still. She was the same old Graypaw, nothing more, nothing less. Same friends, same enemies.

Robinstar meowed, "Same rules, no claws. Biting only if it doesn't break the skin, and is any wounds are inflicted, it's an automatic penalty."

Graypaw and Moonpaw nodded, facing each other off. Moonpaw slowly circled around her smaller opponent, a smug look on her face. Graypaw followed her with her eyes, gazes locked. Moonpaw leapt forward, but Graypaw had seen her tensed muscles, and quick as a flash, spun out of the way and pinned her down on her back. Being larger, however, Moonpaw bucked her off, snarling. Graypaw dodged Moonpaw's attacks, only getting struck on the ear once. Graypaw dove under her, unbalancing the she-cat with a swift up-ward motion. Moonpaw was ready for her however, springing up before Graypaw could trip her. Moonpaw ducked behind her, ready to snap at her tail. Quicker than lighting, Graypaw wrapped her tail around her leg, whipping around. She had practiced to keep her balance without using her tail. Confused, Moonpaw stumbled when she bit into the air. Graypaw slammed her paws down on Moonpaw, but her paws caught her shoulder when Moonpaw rolled aside.

Moonpaw pinned her down, triumph in her eyes. Graypaw grabbed her hind leg with her tail, thrashing it violently. Unsteady, Moonpaw was forced to move, and Graypaw threw her off, panting. Grunting, Graypaw sprang onto a tree's trunk, immediately bouncing back off with all the force she could muster at Moonpaw. Panic flashed through her as Moonpaw raised a paw, claws unsheathed. She desperately tried to alter her course, but her decision to jump off the trunk was interminable. Moonpaw's claws collided with her face, and she shrieked as she felt them dig into her eye. Moonpaw dragged her paw down; she could see from her other eye the look of fake shock and fear on her face as she 'desperately' tried to get her claws out of Graypaw. Graypaw practically screamed bloody murder when she felt her eye tear from the socket. Moonpaw reeled back in shock, something else on her face as well, Robinstar had a face of horror on her and Frostheart stood rigid as a moonstruck mouse.

It was too much for Graypaw, so, she fainted.

~ROBINSTARS P.O.V AGAIN OOOOH~

Robinstar was horrified. The young gray-and-black apprentice would be scarred horribly. The she-cat was passed out on the grass, blood streaming from the wound. She saw her own apprentice standing there, horror on her face at wounding her sister so severely. Robinstar watched, frozen in horror as realization spread across Moonpaw's face, then a small, yet deadly-looking grin. Robinstar barely caught the words, "Now you'll never be pretty. Not even Snakepaw will like you." Robinstar winced; she had taken on Moonpaw as an apprentice to see if she could change her path. It seemed not. Robinstar ducked forward, grabbing the gray apprentice in her jaws. Thankful that Graypaw was small and she was tall, she hurried to camp, immediately diving into the medicine cat's den.

Darkflower looked at Graypaw in shock and muttered, "Dear StarClan, what happened?"

She dashed to the herb store while Robinstar explained, "We were doing battle training for an assessment. Moonpaw accidentally clawed her. Severely." Darkflower just growled under her breath, chewing herbs into a paste. She plastered them onto the wound and a tiny bit inside, to make sure no infection happened. Robinstar watched with concern as Darkflower wrapped the side of Graypaw's head tightly in cobwebs. Robinstar watched as Darkflower bound up the cobwebs against Graypaw, making her look tiny.

Robinstar turned her head, seeing Snakepaw at the entrance of the medicine cat's den, eyes wide with concern. Beside him, Bramblepaw scowled, "I don't see why we're visiting this piece of crowfood. Moonpaw already told us she unsheathed her claws first."

Robinstar opened her mouth to respond, but Darkflower beat her to it, "Do you really believe that good-for-nothing apprentice? She's just a silver rat who did this on purpose!" Darkflower's muzzle was twisted in a snarl, her hazel eyes ablaze with fury.

Robinstar growled a warning to Darkflower, and turned to Bramblepaw, "Frostheart and I were there, Moonpaw unsheathed her claws first. Do you see any wounds on Moonpaw? No." Robinstar answered her own question, not caring what they thought. She left the den, tail swishing, _Oh StarClan, why did you send Moonpaw to us? Everyone loves her, and I can't change her path!_

Robinstar groaned inwardly, she couldn't just kill the apprentice! Irritable, she curled up in her den, tail lashing.

~END OF ROBINSTARS POV OOOOH~

 _Graypaw raised her he ad, shivering. Was she awake? Glancing around, she realized she wasn't in camp. Starry trees and grass surrounded her, towering tall in the night. The stars shone brightly, twinkling. Graypaw flinched, was she dead?_

 _A gray-and-black cat slipped from behind a tree, purring, "No hon, you're not dead! We brought you here to StarClan for something special. Follow me!" The she-cat dashed off, and Graypaw followed, tail bobbing. The she-cat skidded to a halt beside a pond, raising dust into the air. She turned her amber gaze onto the apprentice, flicking her ear, "Look into the pond."_

 _Twitching her tail, Graypaw bent to look inside the pond. She saw herself, curled in the medicine cat's den, breathing in short gasps. She bit her lip, was she really dying? She saw Darkflower raising the cobwebs on her face, revealing the nasty cut and empty socket. Graypaw flinched, visibly seeing what she would look like when she woke._

 _She heard Darkflower mutter, "The infection got worse." Then she yowled, "Graceflower, go get burdock! It'll kill off the infection better than goldenrod!" Darkflower paced the den; muttering 'Oh StarClan' over and over. Graypaw held her breath as Feathermist slipped in the den, paw raised, blood dribbling from it. Graypaw saw Feathermist look at her small and weakening frame and growl, "You should just let her die." Graypaw flinched, not wanting to see anymore, but she was frozen to the spot. Darkflower took out a thorn from Feathermist's paw and returned to her. Graypaw felt her heart beat uncontrollably. Darkflower just stared at her limp form, eyes full of grief._

 _Graypaw choked, "I-I'm dead?"_

 _The gray she-cat turned to look at her, tail curled around her paws, "Your heart may have stopped beating, but your soul still lives on, once we pass through the trees, you'll be an official StarClan member."_

 _Graypaw edged backwards, "I- I don't want to be dead! I can't be, I still have a whole life ahead of me!"_

 _The she-cat stepped forward, touching her nose to hers, "You can make a decision, you can either join StarClan, and watch over your clanmates. Or, you can return to the living world, but with a cost that must be paid."_

 _Graypaw practically wailed, "I'm not going to die! I don't care what prices I need to pay, I don't want to die!"_

 _The gray she-cat rested her head over Graypaw's, "Oh dear, you path will be hard, but you will have the courage to get through it."_

 _Graypaw whispered, "Why do you care so much about me?"_

 _The she-cat bent down to look into her eyes, gaze softened with sorrow and sympathy, "Because I am your mother."_

 _ **AN: OOOO SNAP. We've learned some about Graypaw's true history! Yes, this is going quick, it's supposed to! It'll start slowing down now that Graypaw is in her third-fourth moon of training~ the top amount of chapters I assume this story will be is about 20-30 chaps. But womp, Graypaw's true mother is dead. Ooh noooo.**_

 _ **QUESTION TIME:**_

 _ **What clan do you think Graypaw's mother is from?**_

 _ **ANYWHO. Writing may be cut down a bit because school is ending and yunno. Testing. But in about a month, I'll be graduating –sings- and then I'll have more writing time until August 12th.**_

 _ **If you want to see what Gray will look like in the future with all her scars n stuff; WHAM:**_

 _ **: / / m p / /**_

 _ **Delete the spaces!**_

 _ **Review for a Robinstar plushie.**_


	4. Fight of Your Life

Chapter 4

Graypaw felt numb, and she heard Darkflower pacing, panting in nervousness and frustration, "Oh StarClan, she can't be dead, what'll I tell her father? Oh dear." Graypaw shuffled her paws, head swimming.

Graypaw looked up and rasped, "I'm not dead, crazy." This caused Darkflower to jump with fright, scattering herbs from her stores.

Her green eyes widened in surprise, and she let out a shaky breath, "I thought you were dead, you weren't breathing. You didn't even have any pulse. How?"

Graypaw huffed, "Magic." She glanced around, everything was fuzzy, and she felt uncomfortably hot. Coughing, she asked, "How long was I out?"

Darkflower answered, "Half a moon." She looked behind her as Graceflower entered the den, roots clamped in her jaws. Darkflower hurried over, grabbing one of the thick brown roots in her jaws. She began chewing it into a pulp, reaching for a thick leaf. Graypaw watched as she spit out the pulp onto it. She felt Darkflower removing the cobwebs that were padded over the side of her head. She applied the poultice to the wound over her eye, causing a stinging pain. Graypaw hissed in pain, unsheathing her claws. Darkflower grabbed the cobwebs, wrapping them tightly over her eye. Graypaw grumbled, it felt really uncomfortably, adding to the pressing heat.

Graypaw grunted, "Is it necessary to cover half my face like that?" Then she added, "It'll just make the heat worse." Sighing, Darkflower moved to take off the cobwebs she just placed. They were padded with dark gray fur on the undersides, making them look like a squirrel's pelt. Darkflower then patted on a tad bit more poultice, which she handled fairly well, and put the cobwebs over the cuts, leaving her empty socket exposed. Graypaw flinched at that, knowing how odd she would feel and look. Darkflower put her paw on Graypaw's nose, and then meowed, "No fever, I think it's just hot in here to you. You may go to the apprentices den." Relief filled her, and she rose to her paws, which felt weak after just laying for half a moon. Shakily, she crept out of the den, and all the scents hit her like the ground after falling from a tree. Nervousness crept over her pelt when she neared the apprentices den.

Hesitantly, she crept inside, and wasn't surprised to hear the jeers of Bramblepaw, Ivypaw, and Moonpaw, "Half-face! Half-face!" She ignored them, looking to the corner for her nest. All she saw was a pile of thorns. She hissed in anger, unsheathing her claws and setting her gaze onto the other apprentices. Moonpaw and Ivypaw both stiffened, looking as if they regretted what just happened. But Bramblepaw dove forward, grabbing her leg in his jaws. He jumped back, taunting, "Half-face! What are you going to do? Sit around and cry!" He dove back to bite her leg.

Yowling ferociously, she slapped one of her big black paws onto his back, winding the tom and holding him down. She snarled, "That." She gave glares to the three apprentices, and left the den, curling up in some shade as the sun started setting. She sighed and looked away, bristling. At least she had the knowledge that Moonpaw wasn't her sister. She gave a half-hearted sigh, resting her head on her paws. Then, a yowl sounded from the camp entrance, and they brought in a cat, bleeding heavily. Her heart pounded, and she glanced at the cat's ears, silver. Graypaw let out a deafening cry, scrambling to her paws. They set Frostheart down on the floor of the camp. His eyes were glazed over, but he held a prize in his jaws. A rabbit. Voice trembling, she asked, "W-what happened?"

Dovefeather dipped her head down, licking Frostheart's ear, "He was chasing a rabbit and he got too close to the jagged rocks. When he caught it he fell over and got cut by the rocks below. Graypaw shrieked in grief, pushing her nose into her father's pelt. A voice whispered in her ear, _Oh, my dear. I'm so sorry this has happened to you, but Frostheart has the knowledge that he died to save you. He doesn't hate you; he still loves you very very much._

Graypaw buried her nose deeper into his fur, tail sweeping from side to side. Feathermist settled down beside her, this made her feel sick.

Feathermist narrowed her eyes at her, "This is karma for you never listening to your mother."

Graypaw rose, bristling, eyes narrowed. She snarled at her, "You're not my mother! You never were! You didn't even love me!"

Feathermist countered, "I'm your mother, I remember giving birth to you, you little piece of crowfood!"

Rage bubbled underneath her pelt, and this time she shrieked, "You're not even that kind of mother! My real mother is in StarClan! You were never my mother, Frostheart was never my father! The Graykit as you knew her is dead!" Graypaw stopped panting, but dread crept over her as she realized the truth had slipped from her. Feathermist watched her in shock, mouth agape. Face dampening with tears; she fled, diving through the camp's tunnel, through the forest, until she reached the birch, panting exhaustedly. Flattening her ears, and clawed her way up the tree, nestling in the branches. She was hyperventilating, pressing her face into her paws. She fell into a troubled sleep, a breeze rustling through the branches.

 _Graypaw rose, her fur ruffled slightly. The familiar gray-and-black she-cat was there in the meadow with her, and relief swarmed her as she bounded over. Graypaw ran up to her, brushing their pelts. Graypaw purred, "Mother!"_

 _The gray-and-black she-cat purred, "Daughter." Then she straightened up, looking down at her, then smiling, "My name is Petalwhisker. I brought some cats for you to meet." A white tom appeared, with Emberpaw next to him. Graypaw recognized Icestar._

 _Icestar looked around, blinking; then his eyes landed on Petalwhisker and he cried out, "Oh, my love!" Then he stopped when he saw Emberpaw, sitting with her eyes shining like two suns._

 _His mouth twisted in a snarl, "Why did you bring her? She caused your death!"_

 _Petalwhisker gave him a firm look, "She did not kill me. Blood loss did, StarClan decided it was my time. We cannot run away from our destinies." She looked at all three of them, and meowed, "I'm going to tell you all the truth._

 _Icestar looked puzzled, "What truth?" Graypaw watched as Petalwhisker moved away from her, and she fluffed up her pelt self-consciously._

 _Icestar snorted, "It's that apprentice from RainClan, right? What's so special about her?"_

 _Petalwhisker touched noses with her, "I said I would tell you the truth, so now I am. This is Graypaw, your daughter, Emberpaw's sister."_

 _The MarshClan leader snarled, "She is not my daughter! I have only one daughter, and that's Emberpaw." Emberpaw flattened her ears, her name being spat with malice._

 _Petalwhisker moved forward, touching noses with all three of them, and Graypaw saw herself being swept away into a different place._

 _This time it was a dark area, night starting to fall, Petalwhisker was lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Graypaw flattened her ears as she heard her mother cry out weakly, "Icestar? Icestar, are you here?" Her cries were too feeble to be heard through the rustle of the branches in the wind. Graypaw watched with her eyes narrowed as Petalwhisker convulsed, a tiny kit slipping out. Weakly, Petalwhisker picked up the kit, with fur that Graypaw recognized as Emberpaw, and placed her by her belly. Petalwhisker gave one last groan, blood spilling onto the river shore. Then Graypaw saw herself, a small and weak dark gray kit who blended with the shadows easily._

 _Then she heard Icestar yowling, "Petalwhisker! Petalwhisker, where are you?" Graypaw held her breath, realizing that Petalwhisker had given birth on RainClan's side of the border; most likely trying to find the camp for help with her kitting. Graypaw's eyes widened, also realizing that Petalwhisker had died. Icestar broke from the river, his fur wet and dripping, eyes settling on his dead mate. Icestar's eyes blazed with grief, and heart-wrenchingly, he picked up Emberpaw, or kit, whose black streaks shone in the moonlight, while Graykit's fur blended with the shadows and the pebbly shore. Icestar set her down on the base of tall and jagged rocks, and started to scrape at the pebbles, digging a grave for his dead lover. It was a wonder the Dusk patrol didn't find him, her pulled his mate inside her final resting place, and started scraping the pebbles back over, pulling a big rock toward the front. Icestar picked up Emberkit, and struggled through the river to the MarshClan side, kicking up water to hide his scent and wash away the blood. Graypaw flinched, watching herself sniff the air for milk, crawling out from the shadows into the moonlight._

 _Then he heard yowls, and saw the dusk patrol, Frostheart at the head, with Dovefeather and Larksong following behind. She couldn't hear the conversation, but watched as Frostheart picked her up by the scruff and led them away._

 _Then the vision was swept away and she was back in the meadow, with everyone else._

 _Icestar just stuttered, but soon he and Emberpaw faded from the dream, and she was left with Petalwhisker. She dove forward, brushing her head underneath Petalwhisker's in sorrow, "I'm sorry, I never knew that I would have caused your death!"_

 _Petalwhisker whispered, "Oh, you didn't kill me; don't feel bad about yourself, my dear Pebblekit." Graypaw pulled away, ears flat, but Petalwhisker touched her nose, "Wake, go back to your clan. They may judge you, but StarClan decides in the end."_

Graypaw jerked awake, her fur ruffled and feeling very stiff. She realized she was in the apprentices den, curled in a nest with soft moss and more feathers and wool than her old one. Snakepaw dozed next to her, and the other three apprentices were snoring in deep sleep. She looked at her paws, full of splinters from clawing her way up the tree. She set to work plucking them out, spitting each splinter into the edge of the den. She winced, seeing half of everything, unlike in her dreams. She slipped out of the den, ears flat. It was just after dawn, and all the cats were still asleep.Quickly, she padded out of the camp, heading toward the shore of the river by the MarshClan border. She weaved around the trees, fur bushing as it got caught in brambles. She felt self-conscious that she was a MarshClan cat; she shouldn't be living in the forest!

She finally reached the river, looking up the tall and jagged rocks that stood by the shore, where Frostheart had died, and she just realized that the elders would be setting out to bury him soon. She scanned around the rocks with her single eye, until she found the big rock, cut with jagged marks from the waves and battles that had happened there. She bowed her head, touching the rock with her nose. Then, she caught the scent of MarshClan, fresh. She flattened her ears, knowing that it was either Icestar or Emberpaw who had come to the grave to grieve for the dead she-cat. She looked around for something that could hide scent, and the best she could do was kick water over it and put wide-spread leaves. She didn't want to start a battle.

She headed back to camp, trying not to have her tail drag behind her. She slipped through the tunnel, lowering her head so that she wouldn't see the other's harsh looks. She saw the elders hauling Frostheart onto their backs to go to the burial grounds. She hesitantly followed them out, Moonpaw trailing after her, a look of hollow grief on her eyes. Graypaw almost felt sorry for her, but the thought of the way she acted toward her made her turn her head away from the silver apprentice. The elders didn't stop at the normal burial grounds, but at the great birch, where they started scraping the ground. Graypaw joined in, making impressive progress with her wide-spread paws, and Moonpaw doing quick little scoops to not get her paws too dirty. Soon, the grave was finished, and Graypaw helped settle Frostheart down in it, like his own nest. She flattened her ears, looking for something to put in with him. All she could get were a few poppy flowers, and she dropped them in. The flowers settled onto his fur easily. Moonpaw left from the grave and soon came back with a mouse, craning her neck down to set it inside. The elders, Whiskerstone and Ravenwhisper, both came back with leaves dappled in color, dropping them in, until Frostheart had the flowers, a mouse, and beautiful dappled leaves with him inside the grave, and they set to work covering it.

Feeling numb, Graypaw began to pull the dirt over him, filling it up till the very top. Hesitating a bit, she looked for a rock like the one at the river shore. She found a tall, yet thin, rock with moss creeping down it, and pushed it in the front of Frostheart's grave. She dipped her head at the grave, waiting for the two elders to say final words, but they were silent, just like whenever she had gone to check for ticks or change their bedding.

Moonpaw answered her, "They're mute." She just nodded, ignoring the superior tone in her voice. Feeling weak, she whisked away, heading deep into the forest with her ears pressed flat against her head. She sighed, finding herself at the abandoned badger set by the twoleg-place border. She leapt her way into a tree, balancing on the branches. She sat there for a while before deciding to leave the tree and head for camp.

She quickly weaved through the forest and entered the camp, ignoring the looks. She made it in time to hear Robinstar yowling summons.

She sat down at the edge of camp, right by the vines. Robinstar began speaking, "Since Frostheart died after moonhigh, we decided to name the new deputy before sunhigh." Robinstar's eyes settled on one cat, "Larksong, you will be the new deputy of RainClan." Then her eyes fixed on her, and she stiffened, "Graypaw, your new mentor will be Firestorm." Graypaw felt her heart sink, and she flattened her ears as Firestorm stalked over to her, bumping her nose roughly and walking off stiffly. She sighed, curling up into the corner of cats. Robinstar dismissed the cats, and she saw Firestorm stalk toward her.

He shoved her roughly and hissed, "Come on, training."

Darkflower hurried over, meowing, "She can't train yet, her wounds have just scabbed over, training will make it-" Graypaw watched in surprise as Firestorm swatted the medicine cat away, snarling.

He snapped, "Don't tell me how to train my apprentice!" Darkflower struggled to her paws, and Graypaw saw the claw marks on her shoulder. Graypaw hissed; springing onto Firestorm's back.

She snarled through his fur, "Don't hurt a medicine cat, you fox-heart!"

Firestorm bucked her off snarling, "What bad language for a cat young like you!" He sprang at her, claws glinting. Graypaw ducked, snapping her teeth onto his tail. Firestorm whipped around, throwing her down with his paws. She hissed in pain as she skidded across the floor, scraping her back on the stones. Most of the clan had gathered to watch the fight, eyes wide with curiosity and fear. Graypaw felt Firestorm plant his jaws around her neck. Hissing as his teeth dug in lightly, she used the move that she had done on Moonpaw, wrapping her tail around his hind leg. She lashed it, making his hind leg slide out from underneath him. Firestorm stumbled to the side, keeping his jaws on her, but his grip slackening.

Graypaw tore away from him, inflicting small wounds on her neck. She whirled around, latching her teeth onto his leg, not letting go. She felt the blood seeping from the cut, and Firestorm gave her several blows to the ears. She released him from her grip, plastering a grin on her face, "Now we're twins." She unsheathed her claws, hiding the pain from her paw whenever she moved it. She caught the sight of Firestorm panting heavily, stalking around her with a limp. Blood seeped from scratched along her side, and her front paw felt twisted, and blood trickled from nicks in her ears.

Firestorm sprang for her, and she rolled out of the way, into the crowd of cats. They scattered, whispering.

Graypaw heard Stormbird hiss to Ambergaze, "No cat, especially an _apprentice_ , has lasted that long against Firestorm!" Truth be told, he felt sick, she wanted to just stop and throw up. Something felt off. He sprang at her again, using her momentarily distraction to his advantage. His claws cut through the scabbed marks over her eye, causing her to hiss with pain. She wriggled out of his grip, this time, with all the force she could muster, made a leap right onto Firestorm, unsheathing her long claws for the first time that battle, and dug them into Firestorm. He shrieked with pain.

He snapped at her with his teeth. He caught onto her tail, and she felt a rush of dread. Firestorm began to tug. She felt her claws dragging through his flesh, angering him more. Then her claws came loose from Firestorm, and she was thrown against the stone wall, winded. Firestorm didn't hesitate and held her still by the neck. Fear coursing through her body, and began to scrabble with her paws, claws unsheathed. This tore up the fur and skin on Firestorm's muzzle and legs, as well as the grass.

Blood spilled from him new wounds. He snarled, "You- You crow-food eating rogue!" Graypaw felt herself being lifted again, and this time she saw stars when she hit the stone walls of the camp. Firestorm was stalking toward her again when Robinstar entered the camp from a patrol, the deputy and two other warriors behind her.

Robinstar snarled, "What is going on here?"

Graypaw flattened her bloodied ears as Firestorm said dramatically, "Graypaw here was upset that I was her mentor, and decided to attack me."

She struggled to her paws, hissing, "You know that's not what happened!" Her legs shook with exhaustion.

Robinstar glanced at her, "Tell me what happened."

She started, "Firestorm was going to take me out to train, but Darkflower advised against it. H-he attacked her, so I had to help, didn't I?" She shook her head, scattering blood droplets from her ears. Robinstar dipped her head. She yowled out to the cats, "Because Firestorm has shown behavior that is not even worth for an apprentice, and he will be confined to camp for two moons and will not attend to gatherings for two seasons because of the attack on Darkflower. Dovefeather, you will be Graypaw's temporary mentor for two moons, by then I expect Firestorm to have learned some manners." A few of the young cats snickered at him, shunning the powerful ginger tom. Darkflower came by and led her into the medicine cat's den, her shoulder plastered in cobwebs.

Darkflower sighed in relief, "Most of these aren't deep, Firestorm is powerful, but his claws are small. The only one that will affect you is your tail, he twisted it pretty badly. Graypaw nodded, feeling bleary. Graypaw let Darkflower bind up her wounds, the cobwebs tight around her tail, uncomfortable. Darkflower looked at her eye wound, and mewed, "That one stopped bleeding, it should close by tomorrow. You might be well enough to go to the gathering." Graypaw felt a twinge of worry in her belly, what if Icestar demanded her from the clan? She shook her head, that wouldn't happen! 

Graypaw fell into a gentle sleep, waiting for Robinstar to announce those who would go to the gathering.

 **AN: YEA. Forgot to put in the description there will be mild cursing, but no extreme –unlike some other fanfics I've read- yee Firestorm you're a naughty kitty**

 **What do guys think, should this –milddd- cursing go away or should It stay?**

 **Its mostly going to just be three words that ill use 0-2 out in every chapter. Hhsjssk. yee Firestorm you're a naughty kitty**

 **What do guys think, should this –milddd- cursing go away or should It stay?**

 **Its mostly going to just be three words that ill use 0-2 out in every chapter. Hhsjssk.**


	5. Four Deaths to Nine

Chapter 5

Graypaw shivered, watching the snow fall heavily. Leaf-bare had taken its toll on the forest, withering many plants that Darkflower needed. Some of the clan had gotten green-cough, and the cats who were healthy went to the gathering. Darkflower had been correct, and her wounds had healed enough for her to attend the gathering. Robinstar nodded once all of the cats had gathered, and trudged up to the camp entrance. She saw Firestorm giving her a nasty glare from the warriors' den. She returned it until she left the camp. The snow numbed the pain from her paw, which she thanked. The thick-pelted cats were struggling through the snow behind in the group, and Graypaw sighed when they had to stop for them to catch up. They passed a bubbling stream, which Frostheart had told her before would always refuse to freeze during leaf-bare. She felt a stab of grief, but pushed it away. The cats reached the hollow, diving into it at Robinstar's command. She almost snorted in laughter when Stormbird started slipping on the ice.

She couldn't keep it in once the blue-gray tom fell face-first into the snow below, and giggled. Stormbird glared at her sharply. She padded down into the hollow, bushing out her fur against the chill. She bounded across the snow, looking for her tree. She sprang into the branches once she found the twisted old oak tree. She found the thick branch with the fork in it, where she always stood. She raised her ears, catching conversations from the gathering. Brokenshadow, the TreeClan tom, showing off moves, two apprentices play fighting, elders gossiping.

She leaned forward when she caught Stormbird's voice, talking to a skinny black MarshClan tom, "You know Firestorm right?"

The other tom nodded, "He's a very strong fighter, and no cat has ever beaten him before. All his battles are over right when they start."

Stormbird meowed, "Well, one of our apprentices, Graypaw. I've told you about her before. She almost beat him, and she's only a ten moon old apprentice!"

The MarshClan cat twitched his ears, "She must be a great fighter then. Were they in a sparring match?"

Graypaw shuffled to the tips of the branch, which started swaying under her paws. Stormbird started up again, "No, Firestorm attacked our Medicine Cat, so Graypaw stepped in. She did most of the fight with just her teeth. I don't think any cat would want to fight her with those claws unsheathed!"

The black tom whispered, "Is she here? I want to see for myself what she looks like!"

Stormbird nodded, "She is kinda hurt. But with that fight, I wish she was my apprentice!" Then he called out, "Graypaw!"

She sprang down from the tree, leaning on her good paw, then she bounded over, "Yes, oh mighty Stormbird?" She said, with sarcasm laced into her voice. She expected Stormbird to lash out at her, but he just snorted in amusement.

He growled, "Shadowblaze wants to see what your claws look like." She twitched her ears, turning her gaze onto the black warrior. He visibly flinched when he saw her empty eye socket, and her gaze hardened.

She flicked her tail, "I only unsheathe my claws when I'm in real trouble." She saw Stormbird unsheathe his own claws, and then she muttered, "Fine, fine." She raised her paw from the snow, unsheathed her claws, long, black and hooked, sharper than the sharpest thorn. The tom's eyes widened and he raised his own paw, unsheathed claws. They were a pale gray and standard size. Graypaw twitched her ears, wanting to get back to the oak or to find Emberpaw. She started on her way back to the tree once Stormbird left, but Shadowblaze called her back. She meowed warily, "What do you want?"

He hissed quietly, "Meet me at forested area of the hollow." She felt puzzled, but set on her way to it, wincing as she realized she had to scale the whole clearing. Keeping her head low, she tried to ignore the stares. But after the umpteenth time of some cat calling her a half-face she whipped around, snarling. It was two apprentices, and by their scent, they were MarshClan. She gave a warning growl, causing them to jump.

A black tom sneered at her, "You must be so weak to get your eye clawed out! What kind of cat can manage that? I bet you just tripped and fell on a thorn!"

She hissed in frustration, before deciding to tell them, "Do you know what happened? No! My glorious 'sister', _Moonpaw,_ " she snarled the name in rage, "decided it was worthy to ' _accidentally_ ' rip it out during a sparring session!" The two young cats had cowered back at her geyser of rage that had erupted, their eyes looking too wide for their heads'.

The bold black tom found his courage again, starting to taunt again, "I bet you just made that up to make Moonpaw look bad! There's no way she would do that. At least that's what our clanmates say! Weak-cat!" He jumped forward, digging his small teeth into her leg; she assumed he was newly apprenticed. He gnawed at her leg, unable to bite through her thick fur. He broke away, panting, "You didn't even move! You are a weak cat, weak cat, weak cat!" He jumped at her again, but this time she raised a paw, batting him down with gentleness, to not hurt the apprentice.

Then she craned her neck down, staring the little tom down, "Now don't go doing that, you don't want to end up like Firestorm." His sister had run off.

The black kitten froze, trembling nose-to-tail. Then he squealed, "Y-your Graypaw?" She gave a curt nod, then the tom continued with a shaky voice, "I was on a patrol a-and your clanmates told me about it." He looked ready to bolt away at any second, as his sister had done.

She tried to find out what his reaction would be, so she raised her paw from the snow, unsheathing her claws, and hissing, "You don't want to fight me with these, so don't attack me in battle. Alright?" She turned to look at him. As she expected, he was bolting away from her, tail bushed in terror. She purred in amusement, making the rest of her way to the hollow without being bugged again. She crept into the shadows of the trees, narrowing her eyes. She caught the black form of Shadowblaze slinking around, his unsheathed claws having a glint to them. She sprang at him, pinning gently, and huffed, "Don't unsheathe your claws in the shadows unless their black, it'll catch the moon's shine." Shadowblaze scrambled out of her grip, fur fluffed. Graypaw sat down, "Why did you want me over here?"

He hissed, "To see what those claws can do!" Graypaw caught his eye, they had a determination in them, but a tad bit of playfulness. She snorted, and then started to move, flattening her fur to her sides so that it wouldn't brush the leaves. Shadowblaze followed her with his eyes, which were narrowed.

Then she stopped, and purred, "Let's have a tree battle." She turned from him, springing into the branches of a tree. She scaled the tree, aware of Shadowblaze following her, able to jump easily because of his skinny frame. Then she took a flying leap into another tree, then another. She continued this until she reached the floor, Shadowblaze coming after her. He sprang from his roost, paws connecting to her fur, they rolled. Graypaw huffed when his paws dug into her stomach. She kicked him off, ignoring the pain in her stomach.

Shadowblaze stopped, huffing, "Sorry, sorry."

She scrambled to her paws, shaking her gray fur. There was an awkward pause between them, but Shadowblaze broke the silence in a hushed whisper, "Meet me here at moon-high!" He bounded away from her, back to the gathering. She was left puzzled, why meet up with a MarshClan tom she didn't know? She shrugged it off, rolling in the grass to get his scent off of her fur. After grooming it down, she circled around the clearing in time for Robinstar's report.

The sandy she-cat stepped forward, twitching her ears, "Prey has been running well, and we have only a few sick cats!" Graypaw huffed, _Liar._ Robinstar continued, "Firestorm had attacked his apprentice, but her wounds have healed enough for her to attend the gathering, Graypaw!"

Mossystar questioned her, "Was Firestorm punished?"

Robinstar nodded, "He is not attending the gatherings for two seasons, or six moons."

Mossystar nodded, most of the gathering cats knew where she always had stood during gatherings, and turned toward the tree to chant her name. It was a quiet cheer, most cats looking unenthusiastic or flinching at her scarred face.

Mossystar yowled, "That concludes the gathering! The leaders have agreed to letting our cats share tongues, as the night is warmer than expected." Graypaw sighed, she felt like she would explode from stress. She felt something crash into her side, knocking her out of the tree. She recognized the scent of Snakepaw, and she cuffed him over the ears playfully. He rolled over her, filling her nose and eyes in his brown tabby fur. She sneezed, kicking him off.

She recognized a yowl, "She's attacking him! Kick her out!" It was the black tom. She whipped her head around, snarling a warning. He went stiff like before, and she watched Snakepaw get up from the snow. Swishing her tail against the snow, she bounded away from them, flinging snow onto the apprentice. She heard a hiss of "Hey!" and smirked. Then she felt the ball of fuzz leap onto her back. She felt the tiny claws harmlessly swipe through her fur and his teeth that were being blocked by her thick pelt. She shook him off, hissing. The tiny black tom hissed back at her, tail lashing. Sighing in frustration, she whisked into the forest, padding away from the gathering clearing with a lashing tail. The bramble thickets scratched her skin and tore her fur, but she pressed on, ears flattened with hatred.

She stopped when she scented a bitter smell, and she realized she has trekked all the way to Twolegplace in her rage. She veered on her trail, heading for her own territory. She scented the markers, carefully springing across the stream the divided the borders. She weaved through the brambles, making her way to camp. She padded in the fern tunnel, every cat was asleep, and the gathering ones weren't there yet. She shuffled down the boulders in into the camp, narrowing her eyes. She slipped into the apprentices den, settling into her nest. Moonpaw was fast asleep on the other side of the den, snoring. She curled up in her own nest, sheathing and unsheathing in claws into the feathers that lined her nest. She kept her ears pricked up to listen for the gathering cats. A quiet rustle sounded, and then cats flooded the hollow. She scented her own clan and something bitter. Then she realized what it was.

She hissed, "SwiftClan!"

Yowls and hisses sounded outside. She knew they had attacked the camp with the gathering, that's why there was so many cats there! Roughly, she shook Moonpaw awake. She hissed, "SwiftClan is attacking, get your head up!" She woke Bramblepaw and Ivypaw, who jumped to their paws immediately. Spitting with hatred, she sprang at the nearest SwiftClan cat she could find. He was a brown tabby. She hissed, digging her teeth into his shoulder. The tom yowled in pain, lashing out a paw. He caught the fur on her chest, getting his claws stuck in the long fur. She bit down on his paw, teeth scraping on bone. He howled in pain, using his other paw to repeatedly strike her ears. She but harder, then she heard a loud crack that rang around the hollow as the brown tabby screamed in agony. She released his paw, knowing she had broken it.

The tom fell to the ground, whimpering in pain. Grabbing him by the scruff, she pulled the injured tom to the wall of the camp, behind the ivy. He hissed, "Why are you doing this? I'm you enemy!"

He hissed through his fur, "Because no one should attack a cat that is helpless!" She let go of his scruff and charged back into battle. Moonpaw was being beaten back by three warriors, who she recognized as Sorrelcreek, Shellshine, and Goldenfur, three littermates. Snarling, she leapt onto Sorrelcreek, biting her ears. She kept her claws sheathed, but her long teeth had been driven into Sorrelcreek's ear. The young she-cat hissed, tearing away from her. She held a scrap of Sorrelcreek's ear in her jaws. Sorrelcreek hissed at her, claws unsheathed. She unsheathed her claws partway, to make them seem small.

Sorrelcreek taunted, "Is that all the claw you have? This will be easy!" In her rage, she unsheathed them fully, the tips dug into the earth, ready to tear into Sorrelcreek's fur. Sorrelcreek's eyes widened in fear, and without hesitation, she leapt onto the tortoiseshell. Her claws dug deep into flesh, tearing out fur and spattering blood on the floor. Sorrelcreek screamed in agony, and tore away from her, running for the entrance.

Robinstar yowled, "They're killing! Don't be afraid to kill your enemies! If they fight like rogues, we'll fight back!" She felt a crushing weight on her back, a black she-cat was holding her down, claws digging into her back. She kicked her off, and recognized the cat as Hiddenflame, a SwiftClan she-cat who disliked her with a passion. The black she-cat lunged for her throat, a killing blow. Graypaw hissed, pushing her paws up to retaliate. Hiddenflame stopped her leap early, and dived up to claw her stomach. She moved out of the way from slashing claws. She raised her paw, slashing them down on Hiddenflame's throat. Hiddenflame cried out in pain, blood gurgling in her throat as she collapsed. The she-cat lied still, and Graypaw felt her throat tighten at the thought of a death she had caused. She forced it away, hissing.

Darkflower yowled over the crowd; it was a high-pitched blood-curdling scream. She winced, realizing that RainClan was being beaten back by their will to not kill. Darkflower was lying still, a large gash cut from her chin to her tail. Darkflower rasped, "Graypaw. Graypaw, you have to tell them to kill. By killing is the only way to survive this battle!" The dark she-cat's voice was raspy. Then she hissed, "Graypaw, kill me"

Graypaw stuttered, "N-No! Your our medicine cat, we can't kill you!"

Darkflower hissed, "You're only ending my suffering, just do it!" Graypaw raised a trembling paw, why was Darkflower asking for this?

The pleading look in the black medicine cat's eyes brought her paw crashing down, and it sliced a deep gash in Darkflower's throat. The she-cat let out a feeble cry of pain, then laid still, blood spilling onto the ground. It lapped at her paws, which were matted with the bitter scent. A cat lunged at her, laughing cruelly, "I didn't think you would do what that weak medicine cat told you to do. She was an easy victim!" He sprang at her again, claws outstretched. A red haze cornered her vision, and she panted heavily in rage. The tom sneered at her, "Tired, little kitty?" He sprang for her again, but she ducked under him, claws unsheathed. Raising her paw, she gave him a killing blow, her claws scraping his chin and digging deep into his soft belly. Blood sprayed onto her from the wound, matting her gray fur. The brown tom had been too cocky about his fighting skills, and it had caused his death. She felt sick; she had killed three cats, one of them in her own clan! She scanned the hollow, her clan had driven back the SwiftClan cats, but they pressed back. Blood spattered the floor of the camp, and dead or dying cats littered the ground. Moonpaw was being cornered again, her eyes wide as she pleaded for mercy.

The SwiftClan cat, who was an apprentice, nodded to Moonpaw instead of hissing and clawing, and fled, unscathed. Graypaw growled, chasing after the tom. She caught him by the tail, pulling him back from where he was about to attack Robinstar. He hissed at her, ears flat and eyes wide in fear as he looked at the cat known as Graypaw. She hissed, clawing his ears with her long claws. He spat at her, smacking her check with unsheathed claws. She shrieked in pure rage, the haze returning. She clawed at his face, clawing over one eye and over his face, before letting the tom go. He fled the scene, screaming. Moonpaw stared at her, eyes wide with fear and anger. The SwiftClan cats were fleeing the hollow, bruised and battered. Windstar was still fighting, and his strongest warriors remained. Windstar leapt for Robinstar, grabbing the sandy she-cat in his jaws. He bit down hard, and there was a crack.

A single.

Sickening.

Crack.

The RainClan cats hissed in rage, when Windstar expected them to succumb in fear. Instead, they all leapt at Windstar, attacking the brown she-cat. Windstar knocked the smaller cats away. The red haze hadn't left Graypaw's gaze, and snarling at the SwiftClan leader, leapt for her. Her teeth buried deep into Windstar's throat, and she pulled back, tugging fiercely. Windstar fell limp in her grip, and then blood dripping onto her face, gushing from the wound. She released the SwiftClan leader, covered in claw and bite marks. The rest of her warriors fled, wailing aloud at the ferocious cats that had killed their leader. So many cats lied dead on the floor, only the three from SwiftClan she had killed, but so many from their Clan. The blood that was on her paws and muzzle made her want to vomit, and the way it stained her fur made it even worse.

From SwiftClan, Hiddenflame, Oakstorm, and Windstar had died. From RainClan, Ravenwhisper, Ivypaw, Thistlethorn and Dawnlight, who were newly made warriors, Stormbird, Sunstream, Larksong, Darkflower, and the life from Robinstar.

Robinstar rose on trembling legs. She meowed, eyes blurry, "The new deputy will be F-Frostheart." Her vouce stuttered, and her eyes were clouded. Leopardleaf, mother to Ivypaw, Bramblepaw, and Snakepaw, whispered something in Robinstar's ear. Then Robinstar forced out new words, "T-The new d-deputy will be D-Dovefeather." Dovefeather dipped her head, eyes glowing in grief. Graypaw trembled, three cats who had actually liked or had no problem with her were dead. Graypaw's throat tightened as the stench of blood became overwhelming. A low moan of agony trailed through the camp, coming from the vines

She hissed, she had forgotten about the tom. Bounding forward, and moved the vines. Carefully, she pulled him out from the vine covers. She whimpered as his broken paw grazed the ground. She yowled, "Graceflower!" The sleek medicine cat slinked out of the medicine cats den, her eyes blazing with grief. She nodded to the injured tom, "Can you help him? He's badly injured." Graceflower nodded, carefully pulling the wounded tom into the medicine cat's den. The scent of blood rose in her throat, and taking the risk of being attack, she pelted out of the camp, leaving bloody paw-prints in her path. She was wheezing now, her paws shaking. She looked at them, blood dried onto her black fur. Her claws had bright red on them, still wet. She winced, _I should have never been born, all I'm going to do is kill and kill!_

She flattened her ears, _I'm a monster. I'll just be a scary bedtime story to tell kits when I die!_ It was then the thought struck her, was she going to meet Shadowblaze or not? It was almost Moonhigh, and she twitched her ears warily.

She felt sick with all the blood on her, so she padded toward the river, ignoring the fresh SwiftClan scent. She made her way to the Jagged Rocks at the river, dipping her muzzle into the water. She took a long drink, to get the taste of blood out of her mouth and off her muzzle. She dipped her paws in the rushing water, which were cleaned almost instantly. You couldn't tell she had just killed for cats earlier. She twitched her ears warily as a rustle sounded in the forest. Then she felt a weight on her back, and recognized the scent. Was SwiftClan attacking again? She kicked her attacker off, hissing. Dread crept through her body. It was Hiddenflame's brother, Spiderstrike. The tom had eyes that blazed with fury. He lunged at her, but she just batted him down. She whispered, "Please." He gave her a look of mixed puzzlement and rage.

She whispered in a shaky voice, "I don't want to kill anyone else."

The tom hissed at her, before fleeing back to his own territory.

~HERES A LITTLE EXTRA FROM SPIDERSTRIKE'S POV!

Spiderstrike watched from a tree as his sister's murder ran blindly in the forest, ears flattened. He growled lowly in his throat as she washed off all the blood from her pelt. Was she trying to hide murder? He snarled, springing at her with his claws unsheathed. He landed on her back, but she kicked him off, turning to face him. She had a look of guilt and surprise on her face. He snarled at her again, jumping, aiming for her throat. He felt surprised when she just batted him down gently. Why didn't she shred him apart and kill him instantly, like in the battle? He looked up at her, and was startled by the word she whispered, "Please."

"I don't want to kill anyone else."

The look in her eyes was sickening. It was a haunted sickly look instead of the cold hatred-burning eyes she had when in battle. He hissed at her, before getting up and running for SwiftClan territory.

He would have his revenge eventually

~END

She flicked her ears back as she heard another rustle in the bracken, but shrugged it off.

Graypaw sighed, she decided to go to the gathering place, and was on her way. Would he still be waiting? It was a little after Moonhigh when she got there, and she caught sight of the black pelt almost immediately. She slunk into the hollow, meoweing, "Well, why did you want me to meet you?"

The black tom flattened his ears, "W-well, I was hoping we could be friends, you know?"

She replied flatly, "We're in different clans, we can't be friends." But inside, she had mixed emotions and a warm glow in her chest. Shadowblaze looked at her, hurt. She purred quietly, it felt almost strained, "I was just kidding."

He looked at her, "What's wrong?"

She frowned, "Nothing, why?"

Shadowblaze pressed, "I know something is wrong, I can see it in your eyes. Or eye." She didn't flinch at the last part, but something inside her made her look at her paws, which had started trembling again.

She whispered, "I'm a monster. I killed four cats with these paws. It's no wonder why everyone hates me, even if SwiftClan attacked us and killed our members, we should have just driven them out. I-I didn't need to kill anyone!" The last part broke out in a jagged wail, and her legs buckled in. She lied on the floor, guilt and grief tearing through her. Shadowblaze dove forward, curling himself around her trembling form.

He whispered reassuringly, "No-one will hate you, I promise. I have made accidents like that before, if they weren't accidents then they were in self-defense." She felt him lick the space between her ears, "You're not a bad cat. I saw that the moment I laid eyes on you." She felt the warm glow in her chest grown, and she snuggled deeper into his fur. He whispered, "We should find somewhere to sleep for the night." She nodded, rising to her paws, which were still trembling. He led her over to a hollow in the roots of a tree, where moss and old, yet soft, leaved were. She curled up inside it, next to Shadowblaze. For the first time in a long time, she felt comforted.

He whispered, "Graypaw?"

She whispered back, "Yes, Shadowblaze?"

He mewed awkwardly, "I-I think I love you."

She purred, and whispered back, "I love you too."

And in those moments, she felt more comfortable than she had ever felt in her whole life

 **AN: THIS TOOK FOREVERR**

 **Technically, people who saw, "Ew warrior and an apprentice, the warrior is so much older!" Shadowblaze was just named a warrior, and Graypaw is 10 moons old, which puts them at a 2 moon difference**

 **ALSO**

 **Suggest kit names, Yes I'm being a Spoiler Monster, Graypaw will eventually have his kits :**

 **QUICK NAME A BUNCH OF KIT NAMES FOR ME AND I WILL CHOSE 5**

 **WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RUSTLE WAS**

 **-Firestorm**

 **-A badger**

 **-Shadowblaze's Clanmate**

 **-Fox**

 **-Wolf**

 **-Moonpaw + Gang (Bramblepaw, Firestorm, and Ambergaze**

 **-WINDD**

 **ALSO NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED ALLEIGANCES.**


	6. Dark Forest

**REVIEWS:**

" **The devil that resides within"- Thanks for the names! I might be using Blizzardkit and Howlkit!**

" **The Curse of Fates" Thanks for more names! :D I really like the name Skyekit! Thanks for the suggestions, also these kit names will also go to other cats' kits!**

" **everyone who suggested kit names! – Thanks for all these names! I'll certainly use them for this story and my others!**

Chapter 6

 _Graypaw blinked, she was dreaming. Her mother stood in front of her, whispering something in a chant, her eyes glazed. Graypaw edged forward, twitching her ears to catch what she was saying._

 _Petalwhisker hissed, "At night, the Shadows are most useful, but the Moonlight is a curse. If she cannot change her path, blood will be spilled in Moonlight's wake."_

 _Graypaw reeled in shock, but looking at her paws, realized she was fading._

Graypaw stretched, blinking open her eyes. Shadowblaze was still curled around her, snoring gently. She purred, nuzzling him gently to wake him up. Shadowblaze raised his head, letting out a, "Huh?"

She purred, "Wake up sleepy." His eyes flickered open at her sudden mew. The thought of going back to the campy brought guilt washing over her again. The sky was still speckled with stars, but was gaining a pale orange color. He

Shadowblaze blinked once, and then scrambled to his paws, touching her nose. He mewed, "I'm on dawn patrol, I have to go." Sadness welled inside her, but then he whispered, "I'll be back here tomorrow night. Same time." She purred softly in her throat, waving her tail softly in goodbye. The brambles from her territory brushed against her fur, making her feel hot and uncomfortable.

A sudden voice made her jump, "That was a cute little show." She whipped around, eye wide. A light brown and white she-cat was hanging from a tree, using her front and back paws to hold herself upside-down. She couldn't help but notice the she-cat's belly was swollen and fat.

Graypaw twitched her ears, "Why are you on our territory?"

The she-cat landed lightly on her paws, "My name is Windheart, and from what I know, cats from one clan aren't supposed to meet another.

Graypaw hissed, "You wouldn't tell. Why do you even have a warrior name?" She scented the air; her fur rippling as she realized the she-cat had a scent familiar to RainClan, but not quite right. The she-cat turned her head away, ears flattened slightly.

Graypaw pressed, "Why?"

Windheart turned and faced her, not even flinching at her one-eyed face, "Because I came from the original clans, they live over the mountains by a lake, I came from RiverClan. But they banished me!" The RiverClan she-cat's eyes clouded over; and she looked like she was about to break into tears.

Graypaw muttered, "Oh, s-sorry." Then an idea flashed in her mind, and she meowed to the she-cat, "I'll take you to my clan, if you keep quiet about what you saw."

The she-cat brightened, "Please!" Graypaw purred quietly. Beckoning for the she-cat to follow, she led the way to camp, halting her with her tail when she almost waltzed right into the camp.

She mewed, "Be careful, these cats aren't very fond of me, or of other cats just coming right into the camp." She carefully walked into camp, making sure to keep her head low. Windheart did too, and earned a few hisses.

Firestorm sneered, "Look, the gray nuisance brought one of her own kind."

Graypaw whipped around, fixing the ginger tabby with a glare burning with so much hatred it would have burned through rock, and hissed, "Shut up." Firestorm glared at her, but was silent. Blackstream eyed her with suspicion, since no one had ever gotten Firestorm to shut up when he was mad. She led Windheart to Robinstar's den, carefully entering. Robinstar was sitting up, eyes wary, and ears flattened. She jumped when Graypaw mewed, "Robinstar?"

Robinstar fixed her eyes onto her, "Yes?"

Graypaw mewed, "There's someone here who wishes to join RainClan."

Windheart gasped in surprise, stuttering,"R-Robinwing?"

Robinstar looked at her, almost jumping to her paws. Graypaw watched Robinstar practically squeal, "Windheart!" That was when Robinstar got up, brushing Windheart's shoulder with her muzzle. Graypaw stared at them, confusement in her eye. Robinstar gave her a brief explanation, "Graypaw. Windheart is my sister. We both came from RiverClan. Being honest, these clans are only about eight to ten seasons old. The original clans are so much older. When Windheart got banished, I went with her. But we got separated.

Graypaw murmured quietly, "But why was she banished?"

The two exchanged glances, until Windheart ducked her head, ears flattened, "My old mate accused me of killing kits. He was a traitor to the clans; he just wanted me gone so he could be leader." Her voice sounded like claws scraping against stone at the end, her eyes wide with rage.

Graypaw backed out of the den, meowing, "I'll just go." She bounded down the boulders, paws feeling weak with exhaustion. She was puzzled on why everyone was up so early, it was hardly dawn. She tensed when Moonpaw appeared in front of her, waving her plumy tail.

Moonpaw mewed sweetly to her, "Why weren't you in the den last night, after the battle?"

Graypaw bristled, "I don't think anyone would want to sleep by their clanmates in a battle where they killed some cat!" Then she growled, "and I know your stalling so that your mate can mess up something of mine in the den."

Moonpaw scoffed, "Mate? I don't have one!"

Graypaw brushed past her, growling, "It's obvious that you and Bramblepaw are pretty close. Mates would be a better word."

Moonpaw stopped her again, "He is not my mate!"

Graypaw snorted, "I saw what happened in the battle, is _he_ your mate?" She asked in a fake sweet voice, but truly she just wanted to claw Moonpaw's ears off.

Moonpaw stiffened, "H-how do you know?"

Graypaw hissed, "Calm down. I won't tell if you stop being so annoying and messing with my things!" Moonpaw growled at her, raising a paw.

Graypaw ducked, growling, "Great StarClan, your more obstinate than Firestorm!" She shoved Moonpaw aside roughly; lip curled in a snarl, and entered the den. Of course, she saw Bramblepaw pulling apart her nest, eyes glittering with mischief and anger. She snarled angrily, leaping at Bramblepaw, and pinned him down. She hissed, "Honestly, when will you two learn to stop? I honestly thought you would be grieving more like Snakepaw about your dead sister!"

Bramblepaw's eyes darkened, and he snarled in rage, "Don't you dare mention my sister!" He unsheathed his claws swiping at her, snarling.

She shook him, "Calm down! Would Ivypaw be glad that you're attacking one of your clanmates? Would she be glad about the way your behaving after eight deaths happened the day before? Would she be glad that you're behaving like a three-moon old kit?" The brown tabby looked away from her, grief clouding his eyes. She released him, eyes softening, and she felt a stab of pity for the dark tabby tom. She slowly gathered her nest materials together, building up the soft nest again while Bramblepaw sat on the floor, a miserable look in his eyes. Graypaw sighed, picking up the sad tom by the scruff and dragging him into the soft nest she had just remade. She quickly trotted to the fresh-kill pile, and dropped a squirrel at the edge of the nest, "You can share with Moonpaw when she gets back."

She whisked around, waiting for Dovefeather to wake. The dawn patrol just left, and she was waiting for her temporary mentor to wake up. She sighed in relief when she emerged from the warriors' den. Dovefeather quickly made her way over to her, "We're going to be battle training. You and I will be sparring. Firestorm and Morningmist will be there to spar with you as well." She groaned inwardly, she would be sparring with two warriors who hated her. She didn't voice her complaints aloud. She followed Dovefeather out into the forest, following her to the Great Birch, also the sparring area. Moss was springy underpaw, but there were hidden dips in some places, making it very easy to fall into one. Firestorm and Morningmist were already waiting for her there.

Firestorm sneered at her, "Good luck beating me, I could have killed you if Robinstar didn't interrupt."

Graypaw growled, "Thanks, mighty Tigerstar the second." She saw Firestorm flinch slightly at her voice, which was laced with venom. She sat down in the sparring area, and Firestorm sat on the other edge. Dovefeather yowled, "Go!" Firestorm immediately lunged forward, teeth bared. Graypaw ducked, sliding underneath the tom's belly, Firestorm hissed with rage as she bucked upwards, knocking him over. He was back on his paws quickly, Graypaw had her back to the Great Birch, and she knew Firestorm thought he had an easy victory. She saw the victory flashing in his eyes, and he lunged for her. She smiled at him, a wide-spread cruel smile. She took a massive leap, sailing above Firestorm as he crashed head-first into the Great Birch. She placed one paw between his shoulders, the other on his head, holding the writhing ginger ball of rage to the floor. Firestorm snarled once, and with massive force, shoved her off. Graypaw landed on her paws, hardly out of breath. Firestorm however, was panting heavily, anger and exhaustion in his gaze.

She decided quickly whether not to use the move that had lead to her one-eyed demise. She suggested to Firestorm in a mocking tone, "Why haven't you tried to use my one eye as an advantage to yourself? Firestorms eyes lit up at her words, and she hissed inwardly, _Fool!_ He approached her blind side, but, she could still see him. She growled, "I didn't lose half my vision, I just lost a peripheral! She sprang at him, knocking the tom to the floor. She knew he would get up immediately. Now his back was to the Great Birch. Taking her chance, she sprang onto the side of an oak, then another, and with all the strength she could muster, sprang off the tree, and it felt amazing. The wind rushed through her fur, as Firestorm looked around. She knew her pelt blending with the shadows as she was lunging toward him. She knocked him down with her wide-spread paws that were meant for the marsh, and slammed him against the birch tree, winding him. Firestorm wheezed as she placed her paws on his neck and back, with enough pressure, paralyzed him until she released him.

Morningmist stared at her, eyes wide with fear as she looked at the apprentice that beat her mate to the ground as if he was a bird. Dovefeather yowled, "Graypaw won!" Graypaw released the ginger tom, who struggled to him paws, eyes burning with shame and hatred,

Morningmist whispered, "H-how? How did you beat him?"

Graypaw looked at her dead in the eye, "It was easy. Firestorm puts all his strength into his blows, so he gets exhausted quickly. He also believes stereotypes too much, and it's why I told him about my eye." Morningmist nodded, her eyes still glimmering with fear. Dovefeather meowed breathlessly, "I didn't expect you to be able to beat him. We can work on battle skills later; I've seen a lot of your skill already, Graypaw. You may hunt and return to camp." She nodded her head, slinking past Morningmist with a wave of her tail. She headed deeper into the territory, sniffing the air. She caught the scent of a mouse, and flicked her ears forward to try and pinpoint it. The mouse was sniffing along the roots of a tree; its hole was right behind it. Graypaw slunk forward. The mouse was nice and plump, a good treat to cheer up Whiskerstone, whose mate, Ravenwhisper, had died. She carefully stepped over the mouse's den entrance, and raised her paw over the mouse. She crashed down her paw, snapping the spine of the mouse. She didn't want to make it messy. She scraped a hole in the earth, placing the mouse into it. A gust of wind made her shiver. Leaf-bare was almost over, but it hardly had snowed, but the leaves on the trees were gone and it was always dreadfully chilly. She looked up at the sky, knowing immediately that it would snow. At her own thought, the flakes began to fall from the sky; it was beautiful, since Graypaw has only experienced snow about four or five times. But she knew cold made prey hide.

She had to hunt before all the prey hid in there burrows. She trained her eye on the hole in the ground, and another mouse appeared, and she couldn't help but notice the carefully placed branches on the dirt a little behind the den. Quickly, she shoved her paw down the hole, snagging the mouse that was just exiting. She killed it quickly, and moved to brush away the sticks. There were so many mice underneath it; she knew she would be sure to come back. The smaller ones fled, but the larger, plumper ones only squeaked in their sleep at the chill that had entered their den. Quickly, she killed the sleeping ones, and purred. So many mice meant a feast for the clan. There should be nests that were easier to uncover because the dirt was frozen and it made it hard for mice and voles to dig deep into the dirt. With the mice she had already caught, she had a whopping ten mice to return to the camp with. Carefully, she brushed the sticks back over the nest, flinging some snow on top as well, mice were stupid, and they would think that it was safe once they had a roof again.

She would make sure to return back in the following days. She pulled her other mouse out of the ground, picking them up by the tails. She was surprised she found so many plump and juicy mice in the dead of leaf-bare. Maybe she had a thing for finding nests. She had found a few before. Still, there were so many mice that there wasn't enough room to hold them all, so she tucked the rest under her chin, and awkwardly made her way back to camp. She was met by Moonpaw's sneering, "Kill any cats lately?" Bramblepaw was by her, but didn't jeer at her like Moonpaw. His eyes had a thanking look in them, but he got a rough shove and glare from Moonpaw. She sighed around the mice, padding toward the fresh-kill pile. Blackstream eyes her with suspicion again, of course, who would find such plump mice in the middle of leaf-bare? She dropped them at the pile, grabbing the neatly killed one and heading to the elders den. Whiskerstone was inside, head on his paws.

She mewed gently, "I brought you some fresh-kill. It's your favorite." She dropped the plump mouse at the skinny elder's paws.

What he did next surprised her. He rasped words from his throat, "I don't want it. I should be dead with Ravenwhisper." She never knew they old gray elder could actually talk; she guessed he didn't talk often, so instead he just stayed silent for so long.

She meowed, "Why do you want to die? Would she want you to die?"

Whiskerstone hissed quietly, "I don't care. I want to be with her again. I would die to see her."

Graypaw said a little harsher, like with Bramblepaw, "Would Ravenwhisper want you to mourn like this? Would she want you to wish you were dead just so you could see one cat? You have so many others around you who care. You'll pass down your stories to kits, wisdom to apprentices, and advice to the leader. You just need to realize it. If you died, who would there be to care for? Who would entertain the kits? You have an important role here. Don't try to throw it away!"

Whiskerstone stared at her, his eyes puzzled. Then he whispered, "Who knew an apprentice was so wise?" He let out a throaty purr, "Thank you for the prey." She dipped her head, a quiet purr rumbling in her throat. Maybe more cats were starting to realize that she wasn't so bad. She then headed back, snatching up another mouse and heading for the nursery. Windheart was inside, dozing. Graypaw coughed, jerking the she-cat awake, and mewed, "So, you're a part of the clan?"

Windheart nodded, "Robinwin-star announced it while you were training." Graypaw nodded, dropping the mouse at the queen's paws. Windheart licked her lips, "RiverClan always ate fish, so I'm wondering what this will taste like." Graypaw left the den, swishing her tail in the snow. Her stomach ached with hunger. She blinked, had Graceflower eaten? She hadn't seen the medicine cat since she asked for her to care for the SwiftClan tom. She grabbed yet another mouse, and headed toward the den. The SwiftClan tom was sleeping in the nest, his leg tightly bound in sticks and cobwebs. Graceflower was sorting herbs, twitching her ears. Graypaw dropped the mouse at her paws, then swiftly left. So many cats had seen the mice she brought back, and by now there was only one left. She started toward it, but Morningmist beat her there, grabbing the last morsel of food on the pile. She sighed, it was nearing sun-high, and her stomach was aching in hunger. Then, Ambergaze called her over, growling, "You're on a border patrol with me, Moonpaw, and Morningmist, go get them." Graypaw growled, but slipped into the apprentices den. Moonpaw was lying in her nest. It seemed the she-cat got more sleep than she ever did.

Graypaw woke her up, and growled, "Border Patrol." Ambergaze already told Morningmist, and now they were leaving. She winced, her paws grazing a bramble tendril that was sticking out from where it was growing. Ambergaze turned for the SwiftClan border, scenting the air. She held her breath. Would he scent Hiddenflame's brother? She walked beside the cats warily, and thankfully, they passed the area of the river where she was attacked. She grew wary again as they passed the Jagged Rocks. She felt something shove her and she stumbled, scratching cuts deep into her shoulder from the rocks. She hissed as she heard Moonpaw snigger. She whipped around, glaring at the silver she-cat. Morningmist cuffed her around her ear, hissing.

She heard Morningmist hiss, "Don't shove cats like that. She could have died like your father!" Moonpaw growled a half-hearted apology to her. Dipping her head, she padded on, ignoring the burning pain in her shoulder and the blood that stained her fur. She pressed on, so they would make it to the border quicker. When they made it, she scented strong SwiftClan scent. Two young apprentices were chasing each other, squealing, and another sat warily, eyes wide with fear. Graypaw hissed, causing them to tense up. The two play-fighting apprentices squealed. Graypaw sprang out into the clearing, landing between the apprentices. The young apprentices hissed at her. She recognized the two in front of her as Stormpaw and Storkpaw, the two were cocky and arrogant, and were just apprenticed.

The other was Morningpaw, who hissed from behind her, "I told you we shouldn't have come!" She fled, but was stopped by Ambergaze, who drove her back.

Storkpaw sneered at her, "You're hardly bigger than us, so you can't beat me!"

Graypaw snarled, "I think I can take your down, if I can take Firestorm down in a sparring match!" Storkpaw lunged at her, claws unsheathed. Snarling, she beat him back to the ground with her paw, letting her claws scratch his side. Storkpaw squealed in pain, lunging at her again, she hit him down again, rage burning in her muscles. These cats were part of the clan that murdered half of the warriors! She roared in fury, "Murderers!" She lashed out, flinging the young apprentice to the side. Stormpaw stared at her, wide-eyed. She hissed suddenly, "Well you killed my mother! You're no better!" Stormpaw lunged at her, digging her teeth into Graypaw's leg. Graypaw growled, shoving the apprentice off. She forced her and her brother into a circle of warriors. All three looked terrified. They sat post at the border, waiting for a patrol to pass. Storkpaw tried to run, but Graypaw cuffed her over the ear, hard.

Suddenly, a SwiftClan patrol appeared, looking around the tall grass. Graypaw yowled, "Your apprentices are over here!" They came sprinting through the grass, stopping at the border. They let the apprentices scurry over the border to where they belonged. Graypaw growled, "Make sure you teach your apprentices about borders." The warriors snarled at the patrol, turning, and going deeper into their own territory. They marked the border, and left, heading back to camp. Graypaw wiped her claws in the grass, cleaning them of the apprentice's blood. She slipped into camp to a great commotion. Cats were yowling. She guessed why. A boulder from above was starting to tremble. She stumbled as a sudden jolt hit her. The boulder started shaking and tipping. Robinstar yowled, "Everyone! Get out of the dens!" Cats streamed from the dens, shoving each other to get out of the den. Then the boulder fell. It fell directly onto the warrior's den. A loud scream sounded from inside. That sent Graypaw running, she dove inside the warrior's den. Firestorm was struggling, hissing and shrieking in agony. His hind leg was caught underneath it. Morningmist was behind her, eyes wide in horror. Graypaw dove forward, slamming her paws into the rock. It tipped sideways slightly, getting nudged to the side. Firestorm hissed as it rolled back slightly. Graypaw backed up, ramming into it again. The stone nudged further, and her shoulder, which was already scratched, was getting scraped. She turned, hissing at Morningmist, "Help me mouse-brain!" She charged again Morningmist at her side. She rammed into it again. She hissed in pain, but Morningmist was knocked backwards. Blood streamed from her shoulder, pooling onto the ground below. Firestorm was struggling again, pulling with his front paws. She backed up further, and ran forward, ramming into the boulder with her full body. Her jaw cracked inside her mouth, and blood trickled from her forehead. She stumbled when the ground jerked. The whole world seemed to be yowling and snarling

She shoved her head outside, yowling, "Someone help me with this boulder! Firestorm is stuck under it!" Blackstream bounded forward, joining her in the attempt to move the boulder. Firestorm was weakening underneath it, his leg bloody and torn. Graypaw rammed into it again; grunting in pain from the impact. Blackstream rammed into it with her, and together they shoved it a good distance. Graypaw growled, "One more shove!" She rammed back into it, and the earth jolted again. Because of the sudden shift, the boulder rolled off of Firestorm. Firestorm struggled to his paws, hopping out on three. His hind leg was crushed, bloody, and torn. She stumbled out, panting with exhaustion. Her throat tightened and she collapsed, panting heavily. She was at her limit, tired, hungry, and injured. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the blood that streamed down her face. Her jaw felt as if it was on fire, and her shoulders were both bloodied and bruised, streaming blood onto the sand in the hollow.

Then she heard a voice.

Moonpaw.

Moonpaw was snarling at her, "Why'd you do it?"

Graypaw snarled, "What did I do?!"

Moonpaw snapped back at her, "I saw you! You pushed the boulder! It's your fault that Firestorm is crippled!" Her voice was accusing, but her eyes were dripping with satisfaction.

Firestorm roared, "What?"

Moonpaw yowled, "You heard me! Graypaw pushed the boulder! It was Graypaw!"

Graypaw closed her eyes, not even bothering to say anything. Moonpaw crowed, "See! She didn't say anything, she has no words!" She opened one hazy eye, seeing all the glares the others were giving her.

Firestorm roared in rage, "You fox-hearted apprentice! I'll flay you!" Graypaw lay still, breathing roughly. The moment of pushing the boulder with her small body pushed her to her absolute limit. All she could do was lay there and let her wounds bleed. She heard shuffling around her, then sharp claws that pierced her ear. She knew it was Firestorm. She didn't even feel anything as he clawed her repeatedly. She didn't even know if she could talk. All she could muster was a weak hiss. After so many new scratches, she felt herself being raised; all she could do was flinch as the teeth dug into her side. Then she hit the ground. (Firestorm is hitting her against the ground. He has anger issues like Juniperstar) She felt herself hit the floor so many times, but couldn't get the strength the fight back.

Then she hissed a single word, "Liar."

She opened her eye, and hissed it again, with a furious voice, "Liar." Moonpaw glared at her.

Graypaw struggled to her paws, but Firestorm, whose eyes were glimmering with burning hatred, held her down.

She roared with such ferocity that it could have made Tigerstar flinch, "Liar!" She unsheathed her claws, dragging herself away from Firestorm, and snarled it again, "You liar! I'll flay you!" She felt the sting of her wounds, and all the cats had gathered to watch. Robinstar included, who was watching her, a glimmer of doubt in her eyes. Morningmist lunged at her, holding her down.

Morningmist snarled, "Traitor! You traitor! I'll kill you!"

Graypaw snarled, "You really believe her?"

Morningmist snarled, "Moonpaw can be trusted!"

Graypaw hissed, "Fool! I did nothing! Why would I help him get out if I knocked it over? Why would I be wounded like this if it was all my fault?" Morningmist wavered, the doubt clear in her eyes. Graypaw felt herself slipping out of consciousness, but something, _something_ , kept her awake. Against her will, she yowled in a voice that wasn't hers, "At night, the _Shadows_ are most useful, but the _Moonlight_ is a curse." Morningmist reeled back in shock, and she continued, "If she cannot change her path, blood will be spilled in the Moonlight's wake." At those words, she felt herself topple to the ground, knocking out once her head hit the ground.

-ROBINS POV-

Robinstar watched in shock as Graypaw just lay still as Firestorm practically abused the poor she-cat. She tensed as Graypaw opened one eye, fixing her cloudy glance on her. Robinstar was frozen in place as Firestorm slammed the apprentice onto the ground, causing her to cough painfully. Firestorm replayed the scene, until the gray-and-black she-cat was bloody and bruised, blood streaming from her scratches, nose, and mouth. Then Graypaw hissed, "Liar." She opened her eye, which was burning with so much pain and hatred. She snarled it again, "Liar." Robinstar watched the she-cat rise to her paws, despite the wounds that were most likely stinging like the worst pain she could imagine. Firestorm batted her back down, despite his leg injury. Then Graypaw roared so loudly it left ringing in her ears, "You liar! I'll flay you!" Moonpaw was watching in shock at the she-cat who was defending herself. Robinstar couldn't stop the rush of doubt run through her body as Graypaw turned and looked at her.

Then Morningmist lunged at Graypaw, knocking the she-cat to the ground. Robinstar couldn't hear her words, but Morningmist had a doubtful look in them. Then, what surprised her was that Graypaw turned to look at the crowd, and yowled, "At night, the Shadows are most useful, but the Moonlight is a curse." Her eerie words sent shivers down her spine, how did Graypaw know of the prophecy? Then she said something Robinstar hadn't heard in the prophecy, "If she cannot change her path, blood will be spilled in Moonlight's wake." Then Graypaw's head hit the ground, and she fell unconscious, breathing raggedly. Robinstar moved quickly, grabbing the injured apprentice by the scruff, and dragged her into the medicine cat's den. The apprentice was hissing quietly, and one of her paws lashed out, catching Robinstar's fur. Startled, she almost dropped Graypaw. She laid her down inside the half-destroyed medicine cat's den, and left her to rest. She had to make sure her sister and clanmates were safe.

-END ROBINS POV-

 _Graypaw blinked open her eyes, tensing. Mist swirled around her, and blinded her. She didn't have any injuries, and felt better than when she was awake. The trees were hanging low, brushing her spine as she walked past._

 _A voice growled from in front of her, "Welcome."_

 _Graypaw grunted, "Where am I?"_

 _The voice replied, it was a tom, who was padding toward her, "You're in the Dark Forest. We called you here." The tom was gray and white, his amber eyes narrowed._

 _Graypaw growled, "Why?"_

 _The tom replied, "For training, we can make you respected by your clanmates. They would fear and respect you. No longer would you be frowned upon."_

 _Graypaw frowned. "Okay?"_

 _The tom huffed, "I am Thistleclaw, the other clans brought down our numbers, and some warriors have faded away, me, Silverhawk, Mapleshade, and a few more warriors are the only one who are left here. We would like to train you."_

 _Graypaw flexed her paws, "Alright. I've never gotten much battle training. I think I'll do well here." Graypaw had never heard of the Dark Forest before, so she didn't know of its evil nature._

 _Thistleclaw smiled, "Great. Let me introduce you to the others." Then, about five or six cats emerged from the shadows. There was a scarred silver tom, a tortoiseshell she-cat, a black and brown tabby tom,(sorry I believe that Hawkfrost survived the Battle) a black tom, and a creamy white she-cat with flashing silver paws._

 _The silver tom stepped forward, his eyes burning in a glare, "I am Silverhawk, deputy of the Dark Forest."_

 _Then the tortoiseshell stepped forward, "My name is Mapleshade, Trainer."_

 _The brown tabby just dipped his head, staring at her with icy blue eyes, "Hawkfrost. Trainer."_

 _The other black tom stepped forward, "Nightwhisperer, Recruiter."_

 _The cream she-cat stepped forward, and the others dipped their heads to her, ears flattened and eyes closed. She meowed with a voice filled with authority, "I am Falconeye, Leader of the Dark Forest."_

 _Then Thistleclaw meowed, "You know me, I am the Second Leader of the Dark Forest." Taking the que, she dipped her head, flattening her tattered ears like the others._

 _Falconeye purred lightly, "She learns quickly. Unlike some others."_

 _Falconeye raised one of her paws, and placed it on her head. Falconeye sniffed, "Let's see if she knows this advanced move." Falconeye pressed hard on her head, claws unsheathed. Graypaw wrapped her front paws around Falconeye's leg, flipping the creamy she-cat onto her spine in the mud behind her. Graypaw rose to her paws, facing the Leader. Falconeye looked surprised, "That wasn't the correct move, but it was a smart one."_

 _Falconeye faced her, "Why do you think that move was a smart one?"_

 _Graypaw replied smoothly, "Because if you pose a threat like that in that position I could easily snap your leg, and render your claws useless. As for the flipping part, it would knock you onto your belly, so your opponent would be exposed."_

 _Falconeye nodded, "Very good!" Graypaw felt a rush of warmth at the praise, and dipped her head in respect. Falconeye murmured quietly, "You're waking up. I'll see you tonight." -END PART 1-_

 _-START PART 2-_

Graypaw opened her eyes, already feeling terribly sore. Her throat was sore, her shoulders ached, her jaw burned, the scratches stung, and it hurt to breathe, her hind paws felt as if they were on fire, her ears felt hollow and empty. What felt worse was her sides. They ached and stung with so much pain it made her dizzy with pain. Graceflower mewed, "Oh good! You're awake." Graceflower started to pat on poultice to her wounds, and bound them with cobwebs. Graceflower mewed, "Eat these." She dropped daisies and burnet at her paws, which she lapped up. She knew they were for aching and strength. Graceflower nodded once she swallowed the bitter herbs, "You may go, your wounds aren't severe enough that you have to stay here. You can help with rebuilding the dens. She growled under her breath as she struggled to her paws. What did Graceflower know about her pain? Maybe she stepped on a thorn or two but that was a little compared to the agony the burned through her with every step. Cats were all over the camp, weaving things into dens or going to get more materials. There was a massive pile of shells, rocks, sticks, moss, ferns, bracken, and soft leaves in the pile. The warrior's den was the worst, and a huge boulder still was halfway over it.

Blackstream yowled, "Hey! Help me get this boulder out of the way!" A few cats came forward, including Morningmist, Ambergaze, and herself. All of them pressed their paws against the rock and pushed, Graypaw hissed in pain as fiery pain burned through her shoulders. The boulder rolled off the warrior's den, landing on a tree that had fallen during the time when the ground yowled. Graypaw brushed the debris off of the den, which was half destroyed. Graypaw grunted, reaching out a paw for a pawful of sticks. She tucked them closer, and using her aching and scratched paws, stabbed the sticks into the ground. She made little gaps between them so that they could weave vines and bracken through the sticks. When they were done, they warriors' den had a small wall of tall sticks that would block out some of the wind. Hunger stabbed at her stomach, and she glanced at the fresh-kill pile. Nothing.

Grunting, she shoved the last stick into the dirt. Then someone called her name. Robinstar yowled, "Graypaw! Help us cut these vines!" Hissing under her breath, she limped over. If Firestorm was helping, so could she. Morningmist and Firestorm were lashing out at the vines, scoring deeper and deeper until the vines fell off. They had a small pile beside them. She hissed in her head, _Why can't you understand I'm tired and hungry and haven't had anything to eat since sunhigh yesterday?_ Pushing her thoughts away, she lashed out at the vines, her larger, longer claws able to cut more than one vine at a time. She lashed and lashed, until the vines were cut away and done with. Her wounds had opened again and were bleeding, but she pushed it away. She needed to help. She dragged the vines over the dens, finally able to start working on the warriors' den again. She and Blackstream weaved the vines in and out, creating a thick and reinforced wall of vines. There were still little gaps, however, and they needed to fix those. Blackstream left to go get more things, and returned with jaws full of leaves, ferns, and bracken.

She hardly noticed the pain in her wounds as they bled while she carefully weaved in the bracken to the vines, covering the smaller holes. To soften the prickly bracken, Blackstream slunk inside the almost finished den, padding it was soft and fuzzy ferns. To fill in the rest of the gaps, she shoved in the soft leaves. She looked back, were there any shells and stones left? There were, and she dragged them over, wincing when she realized they were getting bloodied from her bleeding pads. Graypaw placed the heavier rocks around the stick bases, to hold them in during wind and rain. The ledge that Robinstar spoke from covered the top of the den, so the roof was stone. She tucked her head in, Blackstream was already making new nests, her paws moving quickly as she made the new mossy and warm nests that were free from drafts in the walls. Graypaw ducked outside, grabbing a large mouthful of moss and ferns. She back to the den, growling in pain under her breath. She started making a nest. It was a semi-large nest. During Leaf-Bare, you could curl up in it and be warm, and during Green-leaf, you could be spread out and cooled by the shade inside. Graypaw tore a tiny hole in the bottom of the den, and placed a rock by it. She set to work on the nest again, making it deep and warm with the softest moss in the pile she had grabbed. She weaved the soft ferns into it, to provide extra comfort. She left the den, quickly bounding into the apprentices den. She looked at her soft nest, her fur still coated in it even though she let Bramblepaw use it. She picked out most of the feathers, which were a combination of blue and black, gray, white, and brown and black. Holding them in her jaws gently, she padded toward the warriors' den. The smell of the feathers reminded her of bird meat, and her stomach growled painfully in hunger. She dropped them inside the warriors' den. Graypaw began to carefully weave them into the nest, creating the bottom of the nest of bright blue feathers and the outsides mixed with brown, black, and gray feathers. The nest was super soft and warm, and she gently called Blackstream over.

Blackstream twitched her ears, "Yes?"

Graypaw mewed, "I made you a nest, since you were so helpful and didn't make any comments."

Blackstream let out a breath of surprise, "Thank you so much! I was so busy making the other warriors nests I forgot about my own. Thank you, it looks really soft and cozy."

Graypaw purred quietly, "Look over here, there's a hole with a rock that you can push open if it's green-leaf and it's hot in the den, so it can air out, and you can keep it closed during the cold days." Then she mewed with mischief, "Or you could leave it half open on a cold day and leave the sleeping warriors in here wondering why they feel like that woke up frozen in the river." Blackstream giggled quietly, but eventually couldn't keep it in and began laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. Graypaw purred, that was the only time she had managed to make someone laugh from a joke rather than in scorn.

Then someone slunk in, eyes wide, "What are you two laughing about?" It was Flinteyes, a gray tabby tom with a good humor.

Blackstream stared her in the eye and they both began laughing again. Graypaw wheezed, "N-Nothing!" Flinteyes eyes with suspicion, of course at the cat that supposedly pushed the boulder into the camp.

Flinteyes left, muttering, "I swear too StarClan I'll find out why you two were laughing like a hysterical mockingbird!" The two she-cats quieted down to purrs.

Then, Graypaw muttered, "Do you believe that I pushed the boulder?"

Blackstream shook her head "No. I saw you in the camp when it fell. Also, with the effort it took to even roll that thing off of Firestorm, I don't think you could have done it alone."

Graypaw ducked her head, "Maybe they just want a way to hate me since I'm not RainClan."

Blackstream murmured, "I'm not RainClan either, I only know my mother."

Graypaw meowed, "Who is she?"

Blackstream replied, "She was a rogue named Snow. She abandoned me by these territories when I was two moons old." Her eyes had pools of sadness in them, then she turned to her and meowed, "Since I told you, you have to tell me who your parents are. I know you know, or else you wouldn't have had that outburst."

Graypaw whispered warily, "I have to tell you outside of camp. Others wouldn't be too kind to me if they found out. Blackstream flicked her tail, leading the way out of camp. They stopped at a tall oak tree with claw marks in the bark. Graypaw whispered, "The Bear Tree?"

Blackstream nodded, "It's the place in our territory where the medicine cats meet. Okay, you can tell me now."

Graypaw breathed out once, them whispered, "My parents are Petalwhisker and Icestar of MarshClan. Emberpaw is my sister."

Blackstream mewed, "Oh StarClan. I didn't know that. That must be why Feathermist was so terrible to you. I'm sorry."

Graypaw shook her head, "Its fine." She stood as they headed back to camp, pelts brushing.

She was greeted by Moonpaw, who sneered, "Look, its Graypaw, maybe she's seen that no toms like her so she's trying out she-cats.

Graypaw put on a creepy smile, "Maybe I am, who knows, you could be my next victim." She whispered into Moonpaw's ear creepily. Moonpaw squealed in fear and fled, bristling.

Graypaw broke out laughing again, her lungs aching. Blackstream, who had strayed from her side to see if there was any food returned, asking, "What just happened? I see Moonpaw talking to you then running off like a squirrel not even halfway over the thunderpath!"

Graypaw practically choked, "M-Moonpaw said no toms liked me so I changed to she-cats, and then I t-told her 'Maybe I am, y-you could be my next victim' and she ran away like that!" She laughed so hard she almost fell.

Blackstream steadied her, laughing, "I don't think she'll want to be near the she-cat tom hater now!" Her comment brought a new wave of laughter, and everyone was staring at them like they grew bird heads. The night started to fall, the stars shining in the sky.

Graypaw laughed quietly, "I'm going to sleep. It's been a rough day." Blackstream nodded, purring. Graypaw looked inside the den. She sighed when she saw Bramblepaw and Moonpaw sleeping in her nest. She shrugged, she was feeling hot and stuffy anyways, she could sleep outside. The stars shone brightly in the sky, twinkling in the pitch black sky. She sighed, the stars looked free and independent. She curled up on the cool sand in the camp, sighing in contentment as a breeze blew through her thick fur. She jumped as something landed beside her. It was a plump, large rabbit. She looked around for who gave it to her, confused. It was a freshly killed rabbit, and she wondered why it was so fat. A shiver of dread washed through her. Was it stuffed with Deathberries? Nightshade? Maybe Twoleg trash?

Warily, she used a claw to slice the rabbit open. She was right. The plump rabbit had the bright red berries inside it; someone had just tried to kill her. She looked up into a tree, and saw the brown pelt. She knew immediately. Spiderstrike. She hissed into the night, "Don't think it'll be that easy, Spiderstrike." Then she stood, she forgot about Shadowblaze! Then a sleepy voice sounded beside her, "Where are you going?" It was Snakepaw, who looked as tired as she felt.

She mewed quickly, "I was just going on a walk." Her fur was bristling in surprise. Snakepaw shook his head in the air, "I'll go with you."

Graypaw practically choked, "Uh, you should stay here, you were working all day and I got to rest and stuff."

Snakepaw retorted, "Well you only rested because you bad to roll a boulder off Firestorm and then Moonpaw blamed you from some fox-dung lies and Firestorm attacked you!"

Graypaw hissed angrily, "I just want to be alone!"

Snakepaw snapped, "I'm coming with you! I don't want my friend to be alone in the dead of night!"

Graypaw snarled, "I said leave me alone!" She lashed out a paw, catching Snakepaw on his shoulder. Snakepaw hissed at her, lunging. Graypaw couldn't move out of the way quickly enough and was knocked to the ground.

Snakepaw growled at her, "What is wrong with you? One moment you're laughing your head off with Blackstream, and now you're acting as if you could kill! What's wrong?!" Graypaw looked away, flattening her ears. Shame burned through her pelt. She felt Snakepaw shake her, "Tell me!"

Graypaw turned her head to face him, eyes brimming in tears, when she snarled, "You would be acting the same if everyone accused you of being a traitor to the clan. After all, I totally pushed that boulder than I injured myself to save that crow-food eating Firestorm only to have him practically abuse me right in front of everyone because of a silver rat! After all, I did kill four cats, right? I'm a monster, Snakepaw, I'll just kill everyone! Everyone hates me except you and Blackstream; I wouldn't blame you if you decided to hate me! Everyone would hate me even more if they found out I was MarshClan!" She was roaring the last part at him, her eye wild and claws unsheathed, tail lashing, and fur bristling.

Then she snarled, "So just. Leave. Me. Alone!" She lashed out her paw again, scratching deep claw marks across Snakepaw's face and pelting out of the camp. Her legs burned from soreness, but she pressed on, vision blurry from tears. Her claws tore up the grass beneath her. She stopped by the SwiftClan border, legs buckling. She was panting in exhaustion, blood streaming from the cuts in her shoulder. The cobwebs hung half on half off, coated with fur and blood. Graypaw hissed and clawed them off. She didn't care about anything. She didn't care that she beat Firestorm, she didn't care about the SwiftClan attack, and she didn't care about Snakepaw or Shadowblaze. All she wanted to be was alone. Her pelt smoothed down, and she let her paws dip into the water. She rose to her paws once they felt numb with cold, and padded toward the gathering place. Shadowblaze wasn't there, so she just curled up in the hollow of a tree and fell asleep.

 _She woke in the Dark Forest; Thistleclaw was already waiting for her. Thistleclaw growled, "We have someone for you to meet." Graypaw nodded, and surprise rippled in her pelt as Mapleshade appeared with a familiar she-cat._

 _Moonpaw._

 _Moonpaw squealed, "Graypaw! Isn't it awesome here? We can learn to be better than everyone else!" Moonpaw was acting nice now because she was in the same place as her._

 _Graypaw rolled her eyes, "Absolutely great. Did you pass the test Falconeye gave you?"_

 _Moonpaw nodded, "I did. She said I performed it great!"_

 _Graypaw mewed, "What was the move? I heard I did a different one."_

 _Moonpaw meowed, "You just go limp and then roll away from her. She said it was what everyone else did. What did you do?"_

 _Graypaw turned to Thistleclaw, "Can I do it on you?"_

 _Thistleclaw shrugged, "Why not?"_

 _Graypaw crouched onto the floor, letting Thistleclaw place his paw onto her head. Thistleclaw pressed, it was lighter than Falconeye did though. Quick as lighting, she wrapped her paws around Thistleclaw's foreleg and flipped him over onto his belly. She then placed her paws on his belly and neck, so if he moved she would be able to slice her opponent open. She released Thistleclaw, who got to his paws. Moonpaw watched in surprise, "Wow! That was cool, can you teach me? Please?" Graypaw growled under her breath. Moonpaw was acting as if she hadn't clawed out her eye or accused her of being a traitor at all._

 _Graypaw huffed, "It's pretty simple, you just grab their foreleg and flip them over. You just need the muscle to do it."_

 _Then she heard Falconeye call out, "Graypaw! Come with me! Moonpaw, go to Mapleshade!" Graypaw bounded toward the Dark Forest leader, tail swishing. Falconeye led her to an empty clearing. Falconeye meowed, "I want to see how high you can jump. I'm oddly tall; your goal is to jump at least up to my muzzle." Graypaw nodded, Falconeye was a tad bit bigger than Firestorm, and she assumed she would at least get to her muzzle. Graypaw sprang and she saw Falconeye tense up and get ready to jump. When she did, Falconeye's jaws opened to grab her paw. Thinking fast, Graypaw raised her paws, pushing down on Falconeye's muzzle and snapping it shut. Using the small force, she leapt the rest of the way._

 _Falconeye looked pleased, "Very good. You're the third cat that's done that. Everyone else just needs to learn." Falconeye shook her head, "I will be your mentor in the Dark Forest. Thistleclaw won't know how to beat a skilled cat like you." Graypaw felt the warmth from being praised again. Falconeye purred, "We'll start from the most advanced move I know, we'll work down instead of up." Falconeye performed the move. She lunged into the air, her claws holding an imaginary enemy, and flipped herself upside down, the move would have hit the opponents head on the floor, knocking them unconscious. Graypaw nodded, and Falconeye warned, "It's very hard to jump while holding an enemy, since you have to grab the belly and flip upside-down while in air."_

 _Graypaw nodded, practicing jumping with only her hind paws. It would work better if it was a tree battle. Once she got the hang of it, she gripped her paws into the air, imagining it was a spitting warrior. She sprang up with her paws awkwardly held out, and tried to twist upside-down, but she fell on her belly. She hissed, "fox-dung!_

 _Falconeye nodded, "You're doing well, it takes a while for a normal cat to get the hand of the odd jumping, but you did it quickly. I'm proud of you already." Graypaw nodded, ears flattening in determination. She sprang again, and flipped upside-down. She hissed when her forehead hit the ground, but she had gotten the move. Falconeye nodded, her eyes shining with pride._

 _Graypaw meowed suddenly, "Is there moss around here?" Falconeye nodded, and lead her to a massive patch of springy and soft moss, it wasn't exactly the best shade of green, but it would work. Graypaw sprang up into one of the leafless trees. She carefully edged her way along the branch, and then tried to do the jump-and-twist move in the tree. She grabbed the air and jumped off the branch, twisting upside-down. She hit her head on the soft moss, so it didn't hurt to badly. She stood up, forehead sore. Falconeye nodded her approval, "It would be good for a battle. You could hit your enemy on a rock and knock them unconscious. Falconeye glanced at her, and meowed, "You're waking up, and we'll see you soon."_

Graypaw opened her eyes groggily. She was still in the hollow, something pressed against her back. She shivered and stood up, realizing that toadstools and leaves had stuck to her back. She felt a pang of hurt. Shadowblaze hadn't gone. Maybe he had a reason, or he decided to not meet her. Hunger stabbed at her stomach like a fierce monster, pulling on her insides with sharp claws. Her legs were sore and she felt hot and gross. She stumbled toward, heading toward the river. She slid into the cold water, sighing in relief as it soaked her hot fur, relieving her from the stuffy feeling. The water rushed over her back, tugging off the toadstools and leaves. She pulled herself out of the water, shaking out her fur. She stretched, feeling her shoulders pop. She made her way back to camp, slipping through the entrance. The cats inside were just starting to move around. Graypaw let out a massive yawn. She pulled herself into a sitting position. She let out a cry as she realized the rabbit was still lying out. She approached it, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw no one touched it. She dragged the rabbit toward the edge of camp, scraping a hole and throwing the rabbit into it. She scraped the dirt over it, growling. No cat was going to try to poison her and get away with it. She sat outside of the apprentices den, waiting for someone to assign patrols, and she hoped dreadfully that she wasn't on dawn patrol.

Her hopes were crushed when Dovefeather approached her. Dovefeather nodded in understanding, her eyes glazed in tiredness. Graypaw sighed, and just followed the patrol out of the camp. Graypaw growled, and they finished the quick patrol before sun-high. Graypaw's hunger bit so deep that she stumbled forward, her head swimming. She had never experienced such pain before. Dovefeather looked at her with softness, "Are you okay?"

Graypaw nodded, "Just hungry."

Dovefeather, "I think we all are."

Graypaw let out a groan, "Yeah, but not like I am."

Dovefeather frowned, "How?"

Graypaw rolled her eyes, "Maybe because I haven't eaten since sun-high the day before yesterday."

Dovefeather had wide eyes, "Why didn't you eat?"

Graypaw hissed, "I was giving food to the cats that needed it more." Dovefeather nodded in understanding. They made it the rest of the way to camp, and the hunger was unbearable at that time. She winced, clutching her belly with her paws. She felt a thought slip into her mind, _Would having kits cause the same feeling?_ She made the rest of the way back to camp with short steps. She hadn't gone this long without any food; she didn't even have a morsel of meat. She stumbled into camp, her eyes immediately falling onto the fresh-kill pile. A robin was set down onto it, and filled with relief; she made her way to it, but was stopped. Ambergaze shoved her aside roughly, grabbing the only piece of prey on the pile. Graypaw sighed, hanging her head. She heard a sneer come from Firestorm, who was behind her. She turned around, glaring at the ginger tom. She snarled, "Shut up, you could have died If me Blackstream and I didn't push it off you."

Firestorm sneered, "Funny, you were the one who pushed it in the first place."

That set her off. Graypaw screeched in rage, "I didn't push the StarClan- forsaken boulder!" She was bristling, "Would I have injured myself to save your tail if I pushed it? No! I was in here when it fell, Blackstream and Morningmist were with me when I came here. I didn't have to save you either! I chose to! Do you know why?" She was fuming, and didn't pause to let him answer.

She spat right in his face, "Because I'm loyal and I care about all my clanmates!" Her tail was lashing, and the hunger only made her even more bad-tempered. She growled, whisking away into the den, curling up in a spare nest. Maybe sleeping would help.

 **AN: HOLY COW. THIS MONSTER CHAPTER TOOK ME 13 HOURS TO WRITE! I STARTED AT 12 NOON 1 IN THE MORNING AHHHH AHHHAHHHH**

 **Well. This chapter was so big, and was a special treat for you guys. This chapter in story text was divided into two and has 9,062 words.**

 **Love yall 3**

 **I'll be able to make more of these Monster Chapters now that I only have 5 more days of torture (school) left.**

 **(IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY FOR THE SNAKEXGRAY PPL ABOUT THEIR ARGUMENT BUT ILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU LATER IN THE STORY OTAY?)**

 **Chapter in totak has: 10,008 words!**

 **ALLIEGANCES**

 **RainClan**

 **Leader-** **Robinstar- Crazed pale sandy-ginger she-cat (Brilliant Green)-6 lives- Moonpaw**

 **Deputy-** **Dovefeather- Gentle light gray she-cat with darker flecks on her face (Blue)-Graypaw**

 **Medicine Cat-** **Graceflower- Sleek and beautiful light gray she-cat (Blue)**

 **Warriors-** **Rowanflame- Burnt- ginger colored tom (Green)-Snakepaw**

 **Blackstream- Glossy black she-cat with white ears and tail (Blue)-Bramblepaw**

 **Ambergaze- Cross black tabby she-cat (Cold Amber)**

 **Morningmist- Fluffy light-gray she-cat with white-tipped fur that makes her appearance similar to that of a cloud (Blue)**

 **Firestorm- Bulky and muscular ginger tabby tom with a twisted leg(Blazing Green)**

 **Flinteyes- Sharp-sensed black tom (Amber)**

 **Feathermist- Sleek silver tabby she-cat (Pretty Gray)**

 **Leopardleaf- Spotted black she-cat (Green)**

 **Queens-** **Windheart- Light brown and white she-cat (Green)**

 **Apprentices-** **Moonpaw- beautiful sleek silver tabby she-cat; gets all the attention (Dashing Blue)**

 **Graypaw- Gray and black she-cat with tattered ears, one eye, thick fur around neck, a lion's tail, and white under eyes. (Dull Amber)**

 **Snakepaw- Brown tabby tom, secretly admires Graypaw (Amber)**

 **Bramblepaw- Joyful dark brown tabby tom (Blue)**

 **Elders-** **Whiskerstone- Quiet, old gray tabby tom (Blue)**

 **MarshClan**

 **Leader-** **Icestar- White tom with a lion's tail (Blue)-8 lives**

 **Deputy-** **Splashspot- Black she-cat with white patches (Green)**

 **Medicine Cat-** **Jaysong- Silver she-cat (Blue) - Heronpaw**

 **Warriors-** **Shadowblaze- Skinny black tom (Blue) - Shadepaw**

 **Spottedfern- Calico she-cat (Green) - Spotpaw**

 **Honeysong- Crème tabby she-cat (Hazel) – Lilypaw**

 **Echolight- Sleek white she-cat (Green) – Emberpaw**

 **Poppyfoot- Tortoiseshell tom (Amber) – Cloudpaw**

 **Redpool- Bold ginger tom (Green)**

 **Lilacpetal- Creamy brown tabby she-cat (Lilac/Purple)**

 **Snakenose- Saddened brown tabby she-cat**

 **Apprentices-** **Emberpaw- Gray-and-black she-cat (Amber)**

 **Heronpaw- Quiet gray and white tom (Green)**

 **Cloudpaw- Soft, small white she-cat (Sharp Blue)**

 **Spotpaw- Black she-cat (Blue)**

 **Shadepaw- Insolent, arrogant black tom (Amber)**

 **Lilypaw- Crème and black she-cat (Blue)**

 **Queens-** **Daisyshade- Snappy white she-cat (Blue) –Mate: Redpool**

 **Kits-** **Crosskit- Black-and-white she-kit (One Green One Blue)**

 **Elders-** **Leafheart- Crippled brown tabby tom (Green)**

 **SwiftClan**

 **Leader-** **Leafstar- Tortoiseshell tom (Amber)- 9 lives**

 **Deputy-** **Sorrelcreek- Fluffy tortoiseshell she-cat (Hazel)- Sneezepaw**

 **Medicine Cat-** **Flamesplash- Brown and white tom (Amber)**

 **Warriors-** **Snowfield- Snappy white tom (Blue)- Storkpaw**

 **Brokenwing- Grumpy brown tabby tom (Green)- Stormpaw**

 **Forestheart- Odd furless tom (Gray)**

 **Silverstone- Quiet and reserved gray she-cat (Green)**

 **Shellshine- Swift sandy-colored tom (Blue)- Morningpaw**

 **Goldenfur- Golden-colored cocky tom (Green)**

 **Spiderstrike- Snappy brown tom (Green)**

 **Apprentices-** **Morningpaw- Milky white she-cat (Blue)**

 **Sneezepaw- Snuffly gray tom (Green)**

 **Stormpaw- Snappy black she-cat (Green)**

 **Storkpaw- Cocky white tom (Blue)**

 **Queens-** **Frostfire- White she-cat with ginger paws (Blue) Mate: Spiderstrike**

 **Kits-** **Sunkit- Jumpy ginger tom (Blue)**

 **Pinekit- Black she-cat with ginger paws (Green)**

 **Elders-** **Fleetfoot- Frail black-and-white patched tom (Blue)**

 **Dapplenose- Tortoiseshell she-cat (Amber)**

 **Rosecreek- Fox-red fuzzy she-cat (Cloudy Gray)**

 **TreeClan**

 **Leader-** **Mossystar- Young tabby she-cat (Green)**

 **Deputy-** **Sootnose- Gray she-cat with darker paws (Amber)**

 **Medicine Cat-** **Laketail- Blue-gray she-cat with a long, plumy tail (Green)**

 **Warriors-** **Brokenshadow- cocky brown tabby tom (Amber)**

 **Hawkwind- Sharp-tongued brown tom (Blue)**

 **Fernhollow- Brown she-cat (Green)- Frostpaw**

 **Forestlark- Black and gray tabby tom (Green)**

 **Bramblethorn- snappy brown tom (Blue)- Leafpaw**

 **Blackcross- Sweet black she-cat (Green)**

 **Raventrickle- Swift black tom**

 **Pepper- Gray, black, and white tom (Green)**

 **Apprentices-** **Frostpaw- White snappy she-cat (Blue)**

 **Leafpaw- Brown tabby tom (Amber)**

 **Queens-** **Mountainrock- Sleek gray and white she-cat (Green) Mate: Pepper**

 **Kits-** **Brightkit- Creamy tom with brown patches (Green)**

 **Lionkit- Thick-furred golden tom (Blue)**

 **Elders-** **Thunderstorm- Massive, grumpy brown and ginger tom (Amber)**

 **DARK FOREST**

 **Leader-** **Falconeye- Tall creamy-white she-cat with silver paws (Green)- Graypaw**

 **Second Leader-** **Thistleclaw- Tufty gray and white tom (Amber)**

 **Deputy-** **Silverhawk- Silver tom with scars laced across pelt and missing fur (Amber)**

 **Recruiters-** **Nightwhisperer- Black tom with crumpled ears (Green)**

 **Trainer-** **Mapleshade- Dappled Tortoiseshell she-cat (Amber)- Moonpaw**

 **Hawkfrost- Brown tom with black tabby stripes and a white belly (Blue)- Shadepaw**

 **Recruits-** **Moonpaw- beautiful sleek silver tabby she-cat; gets all the attention (Dashing Blue)**

 **Graypaw- Gray and black she-cat with tattered ears, one eye, thick fur around neck, a lion's tail, and white under eyes. (Dull Amber)**

 **Shadepaw- Insolent, arrogant black tom (Amber)**

 **Daisyshade- Snappy white she-cat (Blue)**

 **Spottedfern- Calico she-cat (Green) - Spotpaw**

 **Shadowblaze- Skinny black tom (Blue)**

 **Rowanflame- Burnt- ginger colored tom (Green)**

 **Feathermist- Sleek silver tabby she-cat (Pretty Gray)**

 **Firestorm- Bulky and muscular ginger tabby tom with a twisted leg (Blazing Green)**

 **Sootnose- Gray she-cat with darker paws (Amber)**

 **Brokenshadow- cocky brown tabby tom (Amber)**

 **Forestlark- Black and gray tabby tom (Green)**

 **Sneezepaw- Snuffly gray tom (Green)**

 **Stormpaw- Snappy black she-cat (Green)**

 **Snowfield- Snappy white tom (Blue)- Storkpaw**

 **Brokenwing- Grumpy brown tabby tom (Green)**

 **Forestheart- Odd furless tom (Gray)**

 **Silverstone- Quiet and reserved gray she-cat (Green)**

 **Bramblethorn- snappy brown tom (Blue)**

 **Blackcross- Sweet black she-cat (Green)**

 **Raventrickle- Swift black tom (Brown)**

 **Ambergaze- Cross black tabby she-cat (Cold Amber)**


	7. Kits!

**I HOPE YOU GUYS GOT THE REFERENECE WITH THE (SHE-CAT TOM HATER) It was a reference to a movie, Little Rascals (He-Man Woman Haters)**

Chapter 7

/2 moon later/

Graypaw stretched, tail trembling. It had been two moons since the ground started to yowl, and everything was progressing well. Windheart had given birth to four healthy kits named Stonekit, Icekit, Grasskit, and Shadekit. Graypaw wanted to train Shadekit if she had an apprentice once she was a warrior, since Shadekit had the black and gray color coat like she did. She sighed; the thaw brought water levels high, so none of the clans had been able to go the gathering, especially because there was a stream that circled around the gathering area and leaf back into the river, making the stream swollen and the dip in the ground to rise with water. It was the night of the gathering, and the stars twinkled brighter than she had ever seen them. Robinstar stood on the rock, and announced the gathering cats, "Dovefeather, Graceflower, Moonpaw, Graypaw, Snakepaw, Bramblepaw, Blackstream, Leopardleaf, Whiskerstone, and Flinteyes. We will leave after you all eat." Graypaw purred, Robinstar allowed the old Whiskerstone to attend to his first gathering in moons, since he just started getting back on his paws again. She had also let all the apprentices go for their last gathering as apprentices. She bounced on her paws lightly, it would be her final assessment tomorrow, and she was hoping to pass it. She grabbed a rabbit, a rare catch in RainClan, and padded toward the nursery. Windheart greeted her with a purr, and Icekit and Shadekit crawled onto her pelt, squealing in joy. The other two held back, like always. Stonekit and Grasskit didn't like her very well, and most likely were being told to not trust her by Feathermist, who was expecting kits again, with Flinteyes.

She glanced at Feathermist, narrowing her eyes at the queen. She probably just had kits with Frostheart because he was the deputy. Graypaw looked down at Shadekit, and she noticed the nick in the tip of it. Icekit had a similar one. Graypaw bent down to lick the nicks in their ears. She whispered, "What happened?" The two kits looked at their paws, ears flat. Graypaw growled, "Was it Feathermist?" Shadekit nodded, paws trembling.

Shadekit mewed, "She doesn't like us. She says we shouldn't trust you, but I don't think we should trust _her_!" The young kits voice took a crying pitch, catching Feathermist's attention.

Feathermist whipped her head around snarling, "That fox-dung kit! She tol-"Feathermist's voice stopped when she noticed her, standing there, eyes blazing in rage.

Graypaw stalked toward the queen, and snarled, "You're hurting kits? How would you feel if I just went to one of your newborn kits and scarred them for life?" She spat it in Feathermist's face. A paw raised with her claws unsheathed. Feathermist snarled, and lashed out a paw, clawing her over the nose. In instinct, she lashed out her own paw, scoring deep scratch marks on Feathermist's cheek. Graypaw spat, "I hope that was enough to teach you to not hurt any more kits!" Feathermist hissed at her, and turned the other way. Grasskit stared in shock at her, most likely surprised by her lack of mercy for the arrogant queen. She sighed, curling her tail over her paws. She tugged the rabbit toward herself and the kits, and mewed lightly, "Eat some if you want." The kits all sprang for the rabbit, taking mouthfuls. Graypaw purred, even though they hardly took anything out of the rabbit. Graypaw took a bite, tearing the rabbit. She swallowed, relishing the taste. Shadekit, who was next to her, stared in surprise at the massive piece she had ripped out from the rabbit, then looked at what she had done.

Shadekit squealed, "Wow! I never thought any cat could take a bite that big!"

Graypaw purred, licking the kit over her ears, "One day you'll take bites like that!" All of them returned to the eating until the rabbit was gone. Graypaw pushed the bones outside, and buried them in the earth. She waved her tail in farewell, and headed toward the gathering cats. Her fur bristled as she saw Snakepaw looking at her, eyes round and shining with starlight. They had made up a few days after she had gotten mad, and they were on good terms again. Robinstar beckoned the cats with her tail, and they headed out of the camp. Graypaw dropped to the back of the group, keeping her ears angled behind them. She padded along the familiar trail, until they got to the gathering area. The clan dived in, settling among friends. She scanned the clearing, looking for Shadowblaze. The two had met at the border instead of the gathering place, and she was hoping he was at the gathering. Instead she was met with angry hisses. She stared levelly at three SwiftClan cats.

They snarled at her, "Murderer!" She stayed silent, but fixed them with an icy glare.

Then she hissed, "Three deaths is not comparable to eight!" Her claws were unsheathed, digging into the ground. Then she snarled, "You SwiftClan cats are nothing but filthy rogues!" She stalked away from them, tail lashing angrily. She narrowed at she saw Moonpaw talking with the SwiftClan apprentice from the battle, her eyes full of content. Graypaw balanced on her hind paws, craning her head over the crowd to look for Shadowblaze. She found his dark black fur; he was sitting next to a she-cat, and a tom. Graypaw weaved through the crowd, keeping her gaze on him. Once she was there, she dipped her head to the MarshClan cats. Shadowblaze stood up, and meowed, "Hello Graypaw." He dipped his head to the other two cats, and beckoned with his tail for her to follow him. He slunk into the forested area, and sat down in the tiny clearing where they had first met. After glancing around; she padded in, tail twitching nervously. She sat down on the other side of the clearing, staring at Shadowblaze levelly.

Her throat tightened at he opened his mouth to say something. Her heart sank; she knew what he was going to say. She sprang into a tree and spat, "Just say it!"

Shadowblaze hissed, springing at her. She felt a rush of wind as she crashed to the ground. He hissed, "You won't mention it to anyone!" She kicked him off, growling. Loss and rage filled her mind, and she unsheathed her claws. Shadowblaze leapt at her again, hissing. She dodged to the side, springing back up into a tree. He sprang onto the same branch, staring at her, and she could detect the tiny bit of regret and sadness in his eyes. She snarled, "Your choice!" She dove forward, grabbing the tom with her front paws. Hissing in rage, she forced herself to topple of the branch. Shadowblaze's eyes widened and he started struggling as they plummeted toward the ground. Graypaw sprang off just in time, and Shadowblaze hit his head on the ground, flopping onto his side. He struggled to his paws, shaking his head, but not bleeding. She was bleeding from long scratches on her side from when he was struggling. She panted heavily, ears flat. **(AN: SHADOW X GRAY WAS MEANT TO BE SHORT 1-2 CHAPTERS KINDA LIKE BLUE AND OAK, WITH A ONE NIGHT STAND AND THEN SEEING EACHOTHER AT THE BORDER SO SNAKE X GRAY PPL BE HAPPY )**

They both sprang at each other, Graypaw in rage, Shadowblaze in argument. They became a ball of hissing and scratching. Graypaw bit onto his foreleg, snarling as he clawed her side. In rage, she unsheathed her claws and lashed out at his flank. She hissed, "The Dark Forest told you to do this, didn't they?" She dug her claws in further, but he kept struggling against her. She hissed, releasing his foreleg and swiping at his face. Deep marks scored across it, and he let out a high-pitched, shrill yelp. That was when someone poked their head in, eyes wide. She hissed inwardly, Moonpaw was staring at them both, eyes wide in surprise. They were both bloody and hurt, but were staring at Moonpaw in the same surprise. Moonpaw softly called for Robinstar, and for once, Graypaw noticed, Moonpaw had a look of concern on her face that was aimed at her.

Robinstar poked her head in, eyes wide, and whispered, "Oh StarClan, what happened here?" Shadowblaze glared at her, but had a look in his eyes that told her to make an excuse.

Graypaw hissed in rage, which wasn't hard to fake since she was actually angry, "He accused me of stealing prey!"

Shadowblaze spat back, "Because you did! I saw you with my own eyes!"

Graypaw bristled, his tone of voice and the rage in his eyes made it convincing that he was accusing her. Robinstar eyed her, and then beckoned meowed, "Clean yourselves up and get back to the gathering." Then she looked at Shadowblaze, "I'll be sure to tell Icestar, so be prepared." Shadowblaze nodded, eyes narrowed. He quickly cleaned the blood from his fur he whisked out of the clearing, tail lashing. She began licking the blood off her pelt, grimacing at the taste. She jumped at a rustle sounded behind her.

Panic flashed through her as she caught the sight of a ginger pelt. Firestorm. He sneered, "I didn't know you loved a cat from _MarshClan!_ "

She hissed at him, "You wouldn't dare tell!"

He let out a tiny laugh, "I wouldn't, if you promise something." His eyes glinted in malice.

She narrowed her eyes, "What do you want me to promise?"

He edged closer to her, until their noses almost touched, and his breath felt hot on her face, "You won't question anything I do, you won't fight back if I say something, basically I can do anything and you can't say a thing or do anything to stop it."

Her heart was beating frantically, and she backed up, Firestorm was insanely strong, of he could do anything to her. He let out a low growl, "I could ruin your life with just one sentence."

She spat, "Fine! Don't tell a single soul and ill keep my mouth shut."

Firestorm smacked her on the side of the head with a paw and sneered, "Good." She held back a hiss as Firestorm retreated from the clearing. She growled to herself, and licked the remaining blood off her wounds, and padded out from the clearing, keeping to the edge of the gathering area. Ears flat, she sprang up into the tree, letting one of her paws hang off of the branch. She suppressed a hiss of rage when the new SwiftClan leader stepped up, a smug expression on his face.

He let out a loud yowl, "Windstar has died! I am the new leader of SwiftClan, during an attack with RainClan, Windstar, Hiddenflame, and Oakstorm were killed by the cruel RainClan!" Yowls of rage sounded from the hollow, mostly from the other clans.

Robinstar stepped forward, tail lashing, "During the attack on our _camp_ , Ravenwhisper, an _elder_ , Ivypaw, Thistlethorn and Dawnlight, who were newly made warriors, Stormbird, Sunstream, Larksong, Darkflower, and I also lost a life. How can you argue with the amount of our dead?" The two clans were facing off in the hollow, backs arched, claws unsheathed, curses and snarls rang around the hollow, yet, StarClan didn't send clouds to cover the moon.

Then Icestar yowled, "I say, RainClan should win this argument, they killed in defense, only three cats, and SwiftClan attacked the camp, and killed eight innocent cats for no good reason!" The SwiftClan leader backed down, his lip curled. Icestar spat, "This gathering is over! MarshClan, let's go!" Icestar sprang down from the rock, gave her one glance, and padded into the forest with his clan following. Robinstar jumped down from the rock, beckoning her tail for the cats to follow her. The patrol of gathering cats left the hollow, heading toward their own camp. She flicked her ears back, stiffening from a rustle in the undergrowth.

It sounded too loud to be a cat, but too quiet to be a badger. She scented the air warily, catching a musty scent. A pang of alarm hit her as the rustling grew louder. The gathering cats were ahead, oblivious the scent or the noise. She caught a flash of russet fur, which made her prediction correct. She screeched, "Foxes!" The foxes in the undergrowth sprang from their cover at her screech. She gulped, there were three, muscular russet foxes, their teeth sharp and ready to attack.

She stepped backwards at the patrol rushed forward. Whiskerstone was at the back of the group, and being helped into a protected hollow under a tree's roots. Blackstream was at her side in an instant, and Graypaw grunted her gratitude to her black-pelted friend. A fox faced them, lip curled as it let out high-pitched barks. She hissed at Blackstream, "Go around and bite its tail!" Blackstream nodded, whipped past the fox. It lunged at her, snapping with its teeth. Graypaw dove in front of Blackstream just in time, and the fox's teeth bit into the end of her tail. She snarled, "Wrong spot!" She had lost the feeling in the end of her tail when another fox attack had happened, and it snapped the bone in her tail, damaging nerves. She hissed, clawing its muzzle. Graypaw caught sight of Flinteyes, Bramblepaw, and Robinstar chasing off one of the foxes. The fox that they were battling yelped as Blackstream bit down onto its tail. As she expected, the fox reared up and howled in pain. She dove forward quickly, lashing her long claws down its stomach. It howled in agony and blundered away from them, blood matting its pelt. Graypaw turned around, licking the wound on her tail. She winced as it moved at an awkward angle.

She spat, "I broke my tail again! Fox-dung!" She was grateful that it broke in the area where it had no feeling, so she might be able to have a straight tail again. The last fox, seeing it was outnumbered, fled at the sight of the angry cats.

Moonpaw limped toward her awkwardly, "Are you okay?"

Graypaw nodded, "What happened to your paw?"

Moonpaw shook her head, "It got bit by one of the foxes, and I think it's sprained." Graypaw didn't have the chance to reply when Robinstar ordered to move again.

She let Moonpaw lean on her shoulder, which made her fur tingle. She had never been so close to anyone like this but Shadowblaze, and he betrayed her. The dark pit of anger stirred in her belly again. She pressed it down until they reached camp, where she led Moonpaw to the medicine cat's den. She stepped inside, relieved by the cool air inside.

Graypaw sat awkwardly; Graceflower had bound her tail with sticks and cobwebs, so it stuck out unnaturally. She groomed down her ruffled pelt, and for once, it looked sleek and shiny. She quickly undid the tangles and mats in the tuft on her tail as well as a lion-like mane she had. She nearly jumped in surprise when a paw prodded her side. She whipped her head around, fur bristling. Snakepaw was behind her, and meowed, "Its late, we have our assessments tomorrow, lets get some rest." Graypaw nodded; her throat rumbling in a purr.

The two made their way to the apprentice's den, but stopped in their tracks when Robinstar yowled a meeting call from the Skyrock. Then a rush of excitement flowed through her pelt, "I think we're becoming warriors!" The two stared wide-eyed at each other, and they hurriedly padded over to the Skyrock. Bramblepaw was already there, his tail twitching. Even Moonpaw hobbled out from the medicine cat's den on three paws. She sat next to Graypaw, fur bristling.

Robinstar began, "During the battle with the foxes, our four apprentices fought bravely against the threat. Because of this, I have decided they will become warriors tonight!" Graypaw's heart thumped in excitement, and she couldn't stop her tail from sweeping on the ground. Robinstar looked down on Bramblepaw, "I, Robinstar, leader of RainClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend them warriors in their turn." Her gaze swept the young apprentices, and lingered on Moonpaw for a while, then meowed, "Do you all promise to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?"

All of them spoke bravely, "I do."

"Bramblepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Bramblestorm, StarClan honors your respect and loyalty, and we welcome you a full warrior of RainClan." Her gaze then turned to Snakepaw, "Snakepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snakewhisk, StarClan honors your strength and humbleness, and we welcome you a full warrior of RainClan." Then her eyes were set on Moonpaw, "Moonpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Moonlight. StarClan honors your swiftness and curiosity, and we welcome you a full warrior of RainClan."

Graypaw stiffened at Moonlight's name. A sick feeling crept up her throat, _The prophecy!_ Her fur bristled slightly, but turned her head to meet Robinstar's gaze. Robinstar started, "I would like to say a few things about Graypaw." Graypaw was shocked, words about her from the clan leader? The cats around them were clearly surprised as well. Feathermist had her lip curled in disgust. Robinstar spoke in a proud voice, "Graypaw has surpassed everything that comes with training. She is a very persuasive cat, and very handy when it comes to younger kits and apprentices. She helped during the reconstruction of the camp even while injured, and I feel deep respect and honor for this young apprentice." Graypaw's chest swelled in pride, and she waited for Robinstar to say her warrior name. Robinstar spoke loudly, her voice ringing around the camp, "Graypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Grayshadow, StarClan honors your protection and strength, and we welcome you a full member of RainClan."

Grayshadow ducked her head down in gratitude. Robinstar meowed, "According to tradition, these cats must keep a silent vigil until dawn." Grayshadow saw Moonlight shoulder's slump in disappointment. The new warriors had just gotten into a hard battle, and now they had to stay up all night? Robinstar purred, "Is what I would want to say, but, you all were in an intense fight, you may rest and will hold your vigil tomorrow." Moonlight sighed in relief, and Grayshadow let out an amused snort. Grayshadow blinked, her name suited her.

She started turn away, but Robinstar started up again, "There is one last thing in this meeting." Her gaze swooped to the SwiftClan tom, "Brokenwing and I have spoken about SwiftClan's harsh rules, and I have decided, Brokenwing will join RainClan."

Brokenwing spoke, "I am grateful that you welcome me into this clan, and I will accept your offer." Murmuring swept around the crowd, but soon they were nodding their heads in acceptance. Robinstar dismissed the cats.

All the others left, heading into dens to sleep. She stayed outside, sighing as a gust of cool wind rushed through camp, cooling her down. She didn't feel like sleeping.

She decided that she would do her vigil at that moment, since she wasn't one bit sleepy. She mewed in her head, _Sorry for not going to training, Falconeye_. She sat down next to the camp entrance, narrowing her eyes and staying alert. She kept one of her ears flicked back to listen to the forest, the other toward camp. She kept her gaze on the medicine cat's den, waiting for the SwiftClan tom to emerge. Brokenwing, who was known for his stubbornness. He argued that SwiftClan wouldn't welcome him back. That Windstar and her deputy, or the new leader had said if you've been pitied on, you weren't worthy of calling yourself a SwiftClan cat. Brokenwing did emerge from the den, and curled up on a grassy patch of earth, his muzzle turned toward the sky. She sighed, shuffling her paws. It would be a long night.

/LOL LOOK A MEWN LATER..

Grayshadow sat by the entrance, it had been a moon since they all had gotten their warrior names, and she had been chosen to stand guard that night. Robinstar emerged from her den, stretching. Robinstar padded up to her, and meowed, "Thank you for doing the night guard stand last night, you may go rest." She nodded, though she didn't feel very tired, she knew she needed sleep. She turned away from the camp and headed toward the Great Birch, springing into the branches. She purred in satisfaction when she reached the area where all the main branches sprouted. It made a protective hollow surrounded by thick branches to block the wind and thick, waxy leaves to protect from rain and snow. It was her favorite place to sleep, and she slept in it almost every night instead of her nest in the apprentice's den. She had moss already in it, thickly lined with feathers and ferns and other soft things. She curled up in the nest, closing her eyes for a rest.

 _Grayshadow blinked open her eyes, feeling heavy. She struggled to get up, but a sharp pain lashed through her, and she fell back to the ground, hissing with pain. Her fur prickled, and she twisted her head around to look. It was a crushing invisible weight, which seemed to press harder with every second. A heavy wave of fear swamped over her, and she started to struggle, hissing and spitting. She cried out in pain as something pierced her pelt, and blood began to trickle from wounds on her back and sides._

 _Suddenly, a bright light shone into her eyes, and she tried to look away, but found she couldn't. Pain wracked through her body, whatever what was hurting her seemed to be pressing harder. The form of a cat flickered in the light, and Grayshadow reached out a paw, crying with pain. She flinched away when she saw the cat, lying sideways with a deep wound scored across its neck. A stabbing pain hit her again, and the dead cat faded away, only to be replaced by a new one. She wailed with painful grief when she saw it. Frostheart, the jagged rock stabbed through his chest, blood dripping from the deep wound._

 _She shrieked, "Stop! Stop it! I don't want to see this!" She shook her head, ears flat with pain, heart thumping with terror._

 _Several voices spoke at once, "This is all your fault!"_

 _Great pain wracked across her, she felt blood pulsing from her wounds, pooling around her in sticky puddles. Cats stood in front of her, and she flinched when she saw them. All standing in a line, Petalwhisker, Frostheart, Darkflower, Hiddenflame, Windstar, and Oakstorm, blood dripping from their eyes and mouths. She flinched away from their hate-filled glares, thrashing around from the weight, and hissing from the pain._

Grayshadow jolted awake, breathing heavily. Fear pounded in her heart, and guilt washed over her. She climbed down the tree hastily, fur bristling. She sprinted away from the tree, getting her pelt stuck in fur and thorns buried into her pads. Guilt and fear washed over her as she ran away from the tree, but the voices and screeches of the cats wouldn't leave her mind. At last she skidded to a halt, crashing into a bramble bush. She hissed with pain as thorns stuck into her face. She whipped her head around wildly, eyes wide with panic. Gradually her breathing slowed down, and her racing heart returned to normal.

Grass and dirt were clumped in her claws, and thorns and brambles were caught in her fur and stuck in her pads. She raised one paw, tugging out as many thorns as possible, and then moved to her other paw. She tried to crane her head back to look at her hind paws, but, she couldn't reach them, but they were full of thorns and hurt dreadfully whenever she placed them on the ground. She spat out a bramble, and got to her paws, hissing in pain.

She limped toward the camp, full of pain with every step. At last she saw the tunnel that lead into camp, and stumbled inside, wincing with pain. She was aware of thorns stabbing her face, caught in her ears and even stuck in the gums of her mouth. She quickly stumbled into the medicine cat's den, dropping onto the ground. Her tail swept across the floor, and she quickly stopped, not wanting to undo the carefully placed bonds. Graceflower snorted when she saw her, "How did you manage to do that?"

Grayshadow flattened her thorn-covered ears, "A dream. I ran into brambles after it." Graceflower sighed, and started to pluck out the thorns from her face. She shook her head, scattering scarlet drops of blood on the dirt floor. She closed her eyes, letting out a long, pained sigh. She stiffened when she heard a snarl that sounded like claws on stone.

 _This is all your fault!_

She flinched backwards, aware about how she was starting to tremble. She put her paws over her eyes, gritting her teeth against the fear that chilled her blood.

Bad Mistake.

The hissing rang in her ears, and she saw Frostheart, the rock still stuck in him, and he let out a feeble mew,

 _Why did you kill me?_

She let out a low fearful groan, "Stop it." She jerked her paws back, thrashing her head, trying to get the image out of her head. Graceflower was staring at her in shock, eyes round with sympathy.

 _Why did I have to die for you?_

Grayshadow shrieked, "Stop it! Stop! I don't want this, stop it!"

 _You won't forget, you did this to us._

She wheezed, backing up, shaking like an elder. Her gaze was wide and fearful, she shook her head, but the image was still burned into it.

She dropped onto the ground, a trembling, bloody ball of fur.

Graceflower turned to the herbs stores, and came back with two poppy seeds on her paw. Graceflower mewed softly to her, "Here, these will help you relax and sleep."

Grayshadow shook her head frantically, "I don't want to sleep, and I can't. They hate me; they'll make me suffer in my dreams."

Graceflower shook her head, "That won't do, and you just have to eat them to get stronger."

A rush of fear and dread rushed through her, and she shrieked, "I said no!" She lashed out, swatting the seeds of Graceflower's paw. Her fur bristled, and as she pressed back, the thorns got buried in deeper and tangled into her fur.

She trembled, _It's my fault. It' my fault. They hate me for it. They want to kill me!_

Suddenly a ball of fur flew into the den, hissing and fur bristling. Her heart dropped, and she flinched backwards. It was Firestorm. He hissed, "What did you do, you pathetic lump of fur? Did you hurt our medicine cat?!" He didn't give her time to say anything when he flew at her, pressing all his weight onto her spine, claws stabbing into her fur. She felt the heavy pressure on her stomach, and hissed with pain.

She spat, "Get off me you great lu-"

She hissed as he smacked her across the head, he lowered his muzzle to her ear and growled, "Don't forget the promise." She held back a hiss, but looked down and relaxed from her stiffen. She wheezed from the tremendous weight on her. She couldn't hold it back when she felt something shift, and more pain washed down on her. Some sort of aggression filled her, and she snarled, bucking off the great ginger tabby.

Then she knew the feeling of the fierce desire to protect.

It was a motherly love.

She was going to have the kits of the tom that left her, and she hissed inwardly. Firestorm stared at her levelly, eyes narrowed in surprise and rage. She hissed, "I won't let you kill them!" She put a paw to her belly protectively, her lip curled.

Firestorm sneered, "What do you mean by _them?_ It's only you!"

She spat, "Toms like you are stupid! I won't let you kill my kits!" She shrieked the last part, lashing at him until he backed out of the den. Deep wounds were scored across her back, and plenty of thorns were still stuck in her fur. Firestorm had several, but shallow cuts along his front legs. Cats were gathered around them, eyes wide in curiosity.

"Did she say kits?"

"What's going on?"

"Who started the fight this time?"

She swerved her glare onto the crowd of cats, and they all froze up, and dropped their gazes. Firestorm snarled and sprang at her. She leapt out of the way, paws skidding on dirt. Quick as lightning, she sprang into the air, snapping her jaws around Firestorm's ear. She tugged, ignoring the blood that coated her muzzle. Firestorm shrieked with pain, and swatted her off with a hefty paw. She let out a cry of pain as she landed on her side, thorns burrowing into her skin. She was up instantly, lashing at him again, only daring to get closer. She struck again and again, scoring deep wounds on his legs and chest. He roared in pain, and turned tail and fled out of the tunnel. She tottered on her paws, feeling the sting of her wounds.

She dropped on the ground, trembling with exhaustion. She kept a paw close to her belly, bristling. She glanced at Snakewhisk; maybe her kits could have a good life after all. He returned the gesture, and their gazes locked. Grayshadow's ears burned, and she quickly looked away, tail sweeping in the dust. She struggled to her paws, tottering, and flinched when she saw the blood. It ran down her chest and back and coated her paws. The trembling worsened, and she tried to breathe lightly to not get the heavy stench in her nose. She quickly left the camp, trying to find the trickling stream by the camp. She sighed in relief when she saw it, and hurried over, dipping into the chilling water. She felt immense relief when it soothed her wounds and washed off all the blood. Her trembling ceased, and soon stopped. She hauled herself out of the water, dimly aware of how her belly felt bigger and rounder. She bumped into something, and she leapt back in surprise.

Snakewhisk stood in front of her, his eyes wide. He stuttered, "I-I came to check on you..."

She snorted lightly, "I'm okay, I have a few scratches, that's all." She choked down a cry, _And a few bad memories as well._ She took in a breath, shaking slightly. Then she gathered the courage to speak, "U-Uh, I need to tell you something." She beckoned with her tail to go next to the stream. Embarrassment burned in her face; _Well this is it, the future my kits will get depend on his answer._

She choked out, "I'm going to have kits." She immediately looked down at her paws, shuffling them, ears flat and burning.

Snakewhisk seemed startled, and she noticed his paws shaking. He let out a shaky mew, "K-kits? Our kits?" She snuck a glance at him; his eyes were wide with excitement, shining in the light.

The lie burned in her throat, but she nodded. He purred violently, and licked her between the ears, his purr rumbling through her. Her fur tingled with an emotion that she had only felt a few times.

Love.

She returned the purr, burrowing her muzzle in his soft fur. It seemed like all her problems were over right then, and they both rose, still purring and headed back to camp. Snakewhisk had a bounce in his step, tail held up high. She thought, maybe, just maybe, these kits were his, since she had no signs of kits in the first moon of her warrior life. She sure hoped so. She noticed him trailing ahead, and she quickly bounded forward, but he was practically sprinting toward the camp, his fur bristling in excitement.

He called out, "Leopardleaf! Bramblestorm! Get over here!" Leopardleaf responded instantly, answering to her son's calls. Bramblestorm padded up a little later, yawing.

Leopardleaf mewed, "Well? What is it, tell us!"

Snakewhisk practically yowled, "I'm going to be a father!"

She hissed to him, "You don't have to be so loud, now everyone knows."

Snakewhisk purred, "You may grumble, but you're just as happy!" She butted him on the shoulder, a purr rumbling in her throat.

Blackstream stuck her head out of the elder's den, a scrap of moss hanging from her muzzle, "Kits? Congratulations, Grayshadow!" She nodded her thanks, her purr rumbling loudly.

/LOL LOOK ANOTHER SKIP TO NIGHT LAND11!/

Grayshadow curled up in her nest inside the warriors den, not feeing safe to go sleep out in the trees again. Snakewhisk was curled around her, his head over the back of her neck, a light purr still rumbling in his throat. He meowed, "I love you."

She purred back, "I love you too."

He mewed before falling asleep, "I'll love you forever, and I'll never leave your side. Ever."

 **AN: LOOKIE SNAKE X GRAY PEOPLE THIS SHART IS CANON NOW HHAAHHAAHHAHAA. /ALSO, GRAY AND SNAKE HAVE HAD A LOVE RELATIONSHIP EVER SINCE THEY WERE BORN HAHAHA, AND ALSO THESE KITS ARE HIS andjdjd SHADOW'S/**

 **WhY DO U THINK SHadoW LEFT GRAy**

 **-Dark forest told him to**

 **-He was using her for clan information**

 **-he wanted their kits for something cruel.**

 **/LEAVE ANSWERS DOWN BELOW111/**


	8. Innocent Lives

**BN: The kits names have been chosen! Only one person inserted an OC, so that will be used (but I don't recommend using OC's because something terrible happens later ha-ha) /I ALSO DECIDED 6 BOOTIFUL KITTENS WOT A BUNDLE!/**

 **Howlkit from The devil that resides within!**

 **Skykit and Lionkit from Skymist!**

 **Squirrelkit and Lightkit from Thornflower of ThunderClan!**

 **And**

 **Snowykit from Forgetfulness can be fatal!**

Chapter 8

When Grayshadow woke, she felt uncomfortably heavy, and she heaved herself to her paws, tottering for a little while. Snakewhisk woke from her movements, yawning. He purred, "Stay here, I'll go get something to eat for us." She nodded, feeling drowsy. She put her head on her paws, yawning with sleepiness. Snakewhisk had a fat trout in his jaws, and beckoned for her to step outside. She padded outside, licking her lips. She settled down awkwardly onto her stomach, trying to not be too rough. She took a bite from the trout, relishing the taste. It wasn't as good as a mouse or squirrel but it was still good. Snakewhisk mumbled, "You should move to the nursery soon."

She scoffed, "I just found out yesterday! I can keep up with my warrior duties for at least half a moon." Snakewhisk snorted, but stayed silent, flicking his tail. They finished their meal, and she got to her paws, starting to scrape a hole in the dirt. She pushed the remains in, and scraped the dirt back over the hole. Graceflower padded out of the medicine cats den, and padded toward her, herbs clamped in her jaws. She dropped the herbs by her paws and mewed, "These are borage leaves, they'll help you with milk." Grayshadow nodded, chewing and swallowing the bitter leaves. She curled her lip at the taste and fuzzy texture. She got to her paws, this time not stumbling. She felt awkwardly heavy, and lashed her tail slowly. She padded out of the camp entrance, heading toward the Great Birch. She stumbled over a root, hissing. The bracken raked her sides, and she was dimly aware she was getting plumper. She saw the tall tree through the branches, and swallowed down her fear.

Once she reached it, her heart was thumping loudly, and the blood roared in her ears. She looked around quickly, and found what she wanted to get. There were large clumps of rose bushes, and she quickly padded toward one. She flattened her ears, and bit off a few of them. There were two colors, white and red. Gently, she picked up three of the white roses, careful to not cut her tongue on the thorns. She scanned the clearing, her gaze settling onto a smooth stone. Quietly, she stepped toward it, and set down the flowers, ears still flat. She picked up three more, and placed them by Darkflower's resting place, right next to Frostheart's. She felt exhausted by the time she went back and grabbed the remaining ones. Bunching her muscles, she started to run, glad to know she was still light on her paws. She reached the river, skidding on the pebbles. She panted heavily, and the thorns had scratched her muzzle, but she quickly found the old and nicked rock of Petalwhisker's grave and set the flowers down, dipping her head as low as she could. She rose to her paws after that, and turned to head back to camp, her paws were sore and throbbing with pain once she reached the camp.

She sat down, licking her grazed pads and pulling out a few sharp stones that got stuck in. She settled down to rest when a loud shriek split the air. It came from the nursery, and she guessed Feathermist had started her kitting. Graceflower shot out of her den, herbs clamped in her jaws. Grayshadow felt worry worm into her, would Feathermist hate any of her kits like with her? She trotted over to the nursery, peeking inside. Her heart dropped; next to Feathermist were two kits, both a dull gray like her. But Feathermist still had more kits.

Graceflower snapped, "Stay outside, Grayshadow!"

She jumped, "Sorry!" She pulled her head out, fur tingling. She paced around the camp until her paws were sore and swollen again. There were pained shrieks ringing around the hollow. Grayshadow shivered, did kitting really hurt that much? Windheart's kitting happened while she was out of camp, so she couldn't know.

She settled down by the massive boulder that had fallen, and tried to sleep.

Grayshadow guessed she slept, because when she opened her eyes, it was nearly sunset; and Graceflower had stepped out of the nursery, fur ruffled. Grayshadow stepped inside the nursery to look at the kits, and she frowned at what she saw. Three of Feathermist's kits were pushed to the edge of the nest; two were black like Flinteyes, but with a few small gray flecks, and the other a small light gray. Two others were nestled by her belly, sleek silver tabby she-kits. Her other kits were mewling with hunger, but Feathermist flat-out ignored them and kept her eyes on her two silver daughters. Grayshadow spat at her, and picked up the tiny kits she had left to a spare nest, settling down. She felt grateful for the borage Graceflower had given her earlier, because the three hungry kits scented milk immediately and latched on, suckling and kneading with their paws. Snakewhisk padded into the den, looked at her with a puzzled face. Grayshadow flicked her tail to the three suckling kits and then at Feathermist.

Snakewhisk stepped toward her, touched noses and snorted, "Looks like I got what I wanted."

Grayshadow rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. Could you please get me something to eat?" Snakewhisk nodded, and trotted out of the den. He returned holding a plump mouse and set it down by her paws, leaving the den. She set it to the side of the nest and looked at the kits, their fur was still wet, and she knew they wouldn't make it through the night if they were still wet. She started to work on the little gray she-kit, licking her fur backwards until it was dried up and fluffy. She did the same with the other two, until they were looking fluffy and clean. She tucked the moss in closer, placing warm shreds of moss and feathers over the kits to keep them warm. Their tiny purrs filled the nursery as the sun set, but they gradually died out as the kits fell asleep at her side. Grayshadow pulled the mouse toward her and dug into it, eating almost the whole thing until she got an idea.

She dug a hole and pushed the rest of the mouse in, digging back over it. She curled around the three newborn kits and fell asleep, a quiet purr rumbling in her throat.

Grayshadow woke early in the morning, yawning. The kits were still by her side, unharmed and sleeping. She licked each one of their heads softly and rose, stepping out of the den quietly. She padded across the clearing, and ducked her head into the medicine cat's den. Graceflower lifted her head from a stack of herbs, "Oh! Hi Grayshadow, what do you want?"

She licked her lips, "Borage. Feathermist is picking favorites again." She nodded, dropping the fuzzy leaves at her paws. She waved her tail, "Give some to Feathermist is she's awake." Grayshadow held them lightly between her teeth, not wanting to bite into them. She twitched her nose, and her fur bristled along her spine. The scent of blood was in the air, wafting right into her nostrils. She dove back inside the nursery, fur bristling. She dropped the leaves on the floor, growling low in her throat. Feathermist was hunched over the three kits in her own nest, blood on her muzzle. Grayshadow hissed, springing at the queen, she knocked her over, claws unsheathed. Feathermist stared back at her with dark hatred in her eyes, but a glimmer of fear caught her attention.

Feathermist snarled at her, writhing underneath her. Grayshadow pressed harder, her claws digging into Feathermist's shoulders. She hissed, "Don't you _dare_ touch them again!"

Feathermist snarled, "They're my kits! I can do what I want with them!"

Grayshadow yowled in her face, "They stopped being your kits the moment you neglected them, you pick favorites, and then cast off the others. You're cruel, you don't even deserve kits!" Her yowl woke Windheart's kits, which cried in confusion and fear and woke Windheart. Feathermist's two daughters started mewling and the kits she took in wailed.

Windheart meowed in confusion,"What in the name of StarClan is happening?"

Grayshadow spat, "Feathermist hurt the kits she abandoned, and she's mad at me for stopping her!" Feathermist spat, tail lashing. Grayshadow felt her attempt to do her favorite move, wrapping her tail around her leg. Grayshadow knew how to counter this, and lifted one paw off the ground, keeping balance on her leg that stayed on the ground. She stomped her raised paw on Feathermist's tail, and the she-cat hissed in pain.

Grayshadow bristled as she heard another cat coming, and scented Robinstar. The tall she-cat stepped into the nursery, fur bristling. Grayshadow couldn't say anything, due to the rage that kept a growl in her throat.

Robinstar seemed to understand, "Again, Feathermist?" She flicked her tail at Grayshadow, and she stepped off Feathermist, still bristling. Grayshadow turned away, facing the tiny wriggling kits. She felt a pang of pity; they all had similar torn ears like hers now. She licked the wounds clean, grasping the kits gently by their scruffs. She carried them to the medicine cat's den, tail lashing. She didn't have to call Graceflower, because the she-cat appeared with dock and cobwebs, quickly bonding the kit's ears with poultice and cobwebs. Grayshadow let them be treated, crossing back toward the nursery, where Robinstar and Feathermist were arguing viciously.

Grayshadow got there in time to see Feathermist shriek at Robinstar and spring for her, claws outstretched. Grayshadow sprang, crashing into Feathermist's side and knocking her onto the floor. Grayshadow hissed, her claws digging into Feathermist's pelt. Blood struck her face, and she flinched, and then stiffened. Her heart thudded weakly at the smell and presence of it. Sensing this, Feathermist wriggled out of her grip, hissing. Grayshadow shook her head, _Get over it, get over it!_ Robinstar watched with a surprised look on her face.

Grayshadow drew in a shaky breath, finally moving herself away from the gray queen. Robinstar let out a low growl, "Feathermist."

Feathermist growled, "What, oh mighty Robinstar?"

Robinstar snarled, "As punishment for this happening again, and attacking your clan leader, Grayshadow will care for all your kits." Feathermist started to say something, a disbelieving look on her face, but Robinstar cut her off, "And you will never set foot out of this camp again unless it's for apprentice duties!"

Feathermist stuttered, "B-but, you can't do that!"

Robinstar snarled, "It there anyone above me who says I can't?" That silenced Feathermist, who snarled and slunk out of the den, tail lashing. Grayshadow let out a deep breath, trying to cease the trembling in her legs. Grayshadow left the den, crossing straight to the medicine cat's den, ignoring Feathermist. She swooped in quickly, picking up the kits and crossing back to the nursery quickly. She set all the kits in her nest, picking up the borage she had dropped and chewed it, grimacing. She felt the tiny paws pummeling her belly, and she purred, curling her tail around the kits. They were young enough to remember only her and Snakewhisk as their parents, since they were only a few days old. She sighed, stretching in the nest. Graceflower appeared in the den, crossing toward Windheart. She was holding a sour-smelling leaf, and she just noticed that Stonekit was cowering in the corner off the nest, squealing in pain. She guessed that the herb was yarrow. She shifted restlessly, not wanting to leave the kits but also wanting to leave the den.

She screwed up her nose as she smelled the sour scent of vomit from Stonekit, but Graceflower quickly dragged the messy scrap of moss out of the nursery. She grunted as Graceflower headed toward her, more borage in her jaws. She dropped them at the edge of her nest, "I have to go to the Bear Tree tonight, and these are for you so that you'll produce enough milk." Then she looked at her belly, "It's also a good thing you moved in the nursery so soon."

Grayshadow grunted, "Why is that?"

Graceflower whisked her tail, "I'd say you're going to have five or more kits, and they grow every day. You're already as plump as a she-cat with two fully grown kits waiting to come out!" Grayshadow rolled her eyes, watching as Graceflower left the den.

She sighed and then growled at herself, "More than five kits?! I'll go insane with my kits and Feathermist's!" She frowned, shifting again, which caused the kits to all squeal as their milk was taken away. She curled her long and tufty tail over the kits, letting them sleep. She felt a warm glow of love deep in her heart, and she nuzzled each kit, purring. She set her head on her paws, already feeling extremely tired.

 **/IK A LOT OF SLEEPING IN THIS CHAPTER BUT ITS BECUS I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO WRTIE ABOUT WHEN SHES STUCK IN DE NURSERYYYY/**

 _Grayshadow woke, sighing, in the Dark Forest. The dead members were gathered around her, heads dipped in respect. She shook her head in confusion, "Why are you all bowing your heads? You're higher up than me!"_

 _Falconeye stood, tall and mighty, on the big rock in the clearing, "These other members are now below you, I have decided because of your impressive show of loyalty and encouragement in training and sparring, you will be the Dark Forest's new Second Leader!" She could only help but notice Thistleclaw giving her a dark glare. She gulped, this was the first time she had been in the Dark Forest in a moon, and now she was being promoted?_

 _Falconeye beckoned her into the trees, and meowed, "Since you are a new leader, I must share the secrets of the Dark Forest with you, and I'll tell you something that I didn't even tell Thistleclaw!"_

 _She started, "The first thing, the Dark Forest is where the cats that have been rejected by StarClan go. All the rough-furred, dark-pelted, and best warriors come here, and StarClan takes in the skinny, weak, and pretty." Grayshadow nodded, doubt and nervousness churning in her stomach instead of excitement. She started again, "The vital thing is that I must not die, I hold this forest together, If I die, this place will be destroyed and everything within it. Make sure no cat tries to kill me, I wouldn't put it past Thistleclaw to do so."_

 _Grayshadow forced a fake hiss, "That fox-heart would do anything for a high position!"_

 _She let out a real hiss when she felt something stab her cheek, and blood trickled down her face, dripping onto the floor._

 _Falconeye whipped around, "You're being attacked in the real world! Wake up!"_

 _Grayshadow let out a hiss and clawed her leg, jerking awake._

Grayshadow flicked open her eyes, blood scent filled the nursery, and her cheek was bloody. Feathermist had made her next move. Only one of the kits by her belly was still alive, and others were still; with blood coating their pelts. Feathermist reached for the last kit, unaware of the awoken queen. Grayshadow let out a high-pitched shriek, lashing at Feathermist. She pushed the silver she-cat outside, rage boiling in her belly. She seethed, "You kit-murdering foxheart!" Her shrieking woke several cats, who left their dens to watch the fight. Feathermist lashed out at her, but Grayshadow ducked, and with unsheathed claws, knocked the silver she-cat onto the ground, springing onto her, claws tearing out clumps of fur and flesh.

Robinstar yowled, "Stop! What is this about, Grayshadow?"

Grayshadow snarled, claws still hooked into Feathermist, "She killed the kits! All but one of them!"

Feathermist bucked, snapping her teeth at Grayshadow.

Robinstar stalked down from her den, eyes narrowed. She hissed, "Feathermist. This is the third time you have done wrong, this time murdering four innocent kits! I would sentence you to exile, but your crimes are unforgivable. Your punishment is death!" The tan she-cat had a pained look in her eyes, but before Grayshadow could react, lashed out a paw, tearing open Feathermist's throat. The silver she-cat let out a choking cry of pain, blood splattering from her mouth and staining the sand beneath. Grayshadow reeled back in horror. Blood splattered onto Grayshadow's paws, chest, and muzzle. She stiffened up again, bile rising in her throat. She tottered to the side, unhooking her claws from the dead body of Feathermist. She vomited, trembling, feeling like she had just assisted in murder. She coughed, and in between, she moved as far away as she could from the blood that pooled out like spilled water. She looked across the clearing, wiping her paws on the grass, but stopped when greeted with an angry glare.

It was Moonlight, hatred smoldering in her blue eyes. Grayshadow hissed under her breath, she guessed Moonlight was angry because she received a higher position than her. She returned the gesture, giving Moonlight a fierce one-eyed glare. She whipped around, pelt prickling, and stepped into the nursery. The one survivor was wailing, flailing her paws and letting out tiny mewls. Her eyes swept across the dead kits, both the silver she-kit tabbies the gray she-kit, and the other gray-and-black flecked tom. She picked up their tiny forms gently, getting a glimpse from a now-awoken Windheart. She padded out of the den, holding her breath and quickly skimming across the clearing trying to not look at the limp form of Feathermist. She left the camp, her paws feeling heavy. She made her way towards the river, fur getting caught on brambles and bracken. She flattened her ears, _Too many deaths in such a short time._ She stumbled over a rock, letting out a muffled hiss. She raised her paw, doing a slight limp all the way to the river. After much tripping and stumbling, she made it to the river's stones. She began scraping at the ground, digging tiny holes to fit the kits. She placed the tiny kits into them, pushing dirt and stones over them, and leaves to mask the scent so no predators would dig them up.

She whispered, "Petalwhisker, please take care of them." Her ears flicked back as she heard rustling, and she whipped around, bristling. She scanned the undergrowth, sharpening her gaze. She caught flashes of silver fur, as well as tortoiseshell, brown, and white. She let out a deep growl, claws unsheathed. She pushed pack her anger as Moonlight stepped out of the undergrowth, Leafstar, Sorrelcreek and Spiderstrike following.

Moonlight sneered, "Hello, dear sister."

 **AN: SORRY SORRY SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG WAIITITITITITI. Ive had realllly bad writers block lately, so this chapter was such a struggle to get done *-* and my summer break is over ;-; SCHOOL NOOOOO. 0kaY time for a casual conversation with the clannnn**

 **Gray; Why am I not dead yet seriously**

 **Moon; we can make arrangements for that**

 **Gray; I still know you have a forbidden love**

 **Moon; fuq**

 **Robin; Whats going on**

 **Wind; idk**

 **Fire; I swear to StarClan im going to rob Grayshadow's things.**

 **Snake; YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY LITTLE GIRL (ouran quote)**

 **Gray; Im not your little girl**

 **Ember; WhAT**

 **Ice; Gray, Ember you two look so alike I don't know which is which**

 **Gray; Dad did you get into the catmint again**

 **Ice; whaT nO**

 **Frost; At times like these I'm glad I died.**

 **Gray; you morbid bastard.**

 **Frost; how rude**

 **Feather; Wow the irony a bird killed a feather**

 **Robin; I'm not sad I did anymore**

 **Gray, Snake Fire, Ice; THAT'S BECAUSE YOU AREN'T STABLE**

 **Robin; Why is my clan so cruel**

 **Storm; how did I die again**

 **Fire; QOTD: do I come off as a perv.**

 **(all of rainclan); YES**

 **Fire; /cries in corner/**

 **ME; OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH**

 **/IM IMAGINING THE CATS AS THE HOST CLUB FUK FUK FUKFUFKFUFJF/**

 **SORRY I MESSED UP THE CHAPTER HERES THE WHOLE THING**


	9. Insanity

Chapter 9

Grayshadow narrowed her eyes; Moonlight was standing in front of the three SwiftClan cats, a cocky look in her eyes. She stalked forward, and snarled at Grayshadow, "You killed our mother; you took a higher rank than me! You're lower than a snake, you murderer!"

Grayshadow countered, "She was the murderer to begin with! I took a higher rank because Falconeye trusts me more than you!" Then she took a sharp look at Leafstar, "And, who are you calling lower than a snake?" She growled, "Isn't forbidden love against the warrior code?" Hypocrisy burned on her pelt, but she didn't make any change of emotion. Moonlight froze, fur bristling.

She stuttered, "L-Leafstar doesn't care about that! I promised him I would get him extra territory, so there!"

Leafstar looked at his claws, "Yes, it's true that I don't care about her relationship with one of my warriors, but I do care about which one it is. But that can happen after the battle." Moonlight bared her teeth, springing at Grayshadow. She ducked away from the sharp claws of Moonlight, keeping the safety of her kits in mind. She held back a hiss as the wound on her leg stretched. Moonlight took advantage of it, and her claws sliced through the wound, making it deeper and sting more. Rage boiled in her blood, and Grayshadow let out a yowl of rage, biting down onto Moonlight's ear, tearing it in half like her own.

Moonlight shrieked, springing away, but immediately Spiderstrike crashed into her, knocking her onto her side painfully, scraping her back on the stones by the river. Pain wracked in her stomach, and she flinched, struggling to her paws. Now Leafstar and Sorrelcreek were circling her, and she felt bile rise into her throat, _They're going to kill me!_ To her luck, however it may seen, Spiderstrike was too eager to kill her, and sprang, wide open.

Gritting her teeth, she lashed out with her paw, long claws snagging into his throat. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the feeling of her claws slicing through the tom's fur and flesh. She dared to open her eyes, and backed away at what she saw. Spiderstrike was lying on the ground, spitting and wheezing. She had missed her attack, and now he was going to suffer a long and painful death. A voice rang in her head, _You just used a technique from the Dark Forest, you miscalculate your blow and make a tiny cut in the artery, so they bleed out in a slow and painful death._ It was Falconeye

Grayshadow didn't reply, and focused on the threat that was still there. Blood coated her paws, staining her fur a dark red. Then, when she least expected it, Leafstar sprang forward, startling her. Pain hit her when Leafstar dug his teeth into her neck. After a while of being held there, she realized he didn't hit anything lethal. But, she went limp, pretending as if he had. Holding her breath, she waited until Leafstar checked her breathing. She didn't budge when Leafstar pressed a paw on her flank. Her lungs began to hurt, and he finally took his paw off and padded back, and let out a laugh, "She's dead!"

Moonlight sneered, "Finally, now we can get the plan into action. I'll have to kill Robinstar, since I'm such a trusted warrior in my clan, there's no doubt I'll become new deputy. Then we can make our alliance." Grayshadow let out her breath quietly through her nose, then took a small inhale. She couldn't help but prick up her ears when she heard yowling. She flicked her gaze over, across the river there was a small patrol of MarshClan cats. Emberpaw was in it, or, whatever her warrior name was now. Emberpaw crossed the river, her claws unsheathed. The two other warriors followed close behind.

Grayshadow let out a tiny whisper, "Emberpaw!"

The MarshClan she-cat turned around, "It's Embercloud now, sister." Then she turned around sharply, "I will not forgive anyone who hurts my kin!" She let out a low growl, tail lashing. Grayshadow struggled to her paws, ignoring the stinging wound on the side of her neck. It wasn't too deep, but it burned like fire. Rustling sounded from the forest, and Grayshadow could scent her own clan. Leafstar quickly grabbed Spiderstrike and bolted, Sorrelcreek following. They crossed the nearby forest, disappearing in the tall grass.

She let out a hiss, "Cowards." But now, a patrol of the cats that disliked her most had shown up, most likely going to cause a huge battle instead of listening to what the others had to say. Firestorm, Flinteyes, and Morningmist were in the patrol. Although Firestorm had a limp, he was still frighteningly strong.

Moonlight quickly lied to the patrol, "They attacked me and Grayshadow!" Firestorm gave a nod, and with a roar of rage, sprang for Embercloud. Embercloud met him head on, ears flat. However, Firestorm's strength was too great, and Embercloud was pushed back.

Grayshadow's eyes widened in terror, Firestorm was pushing Embercloud toward the long, sharp stones. She shrieked, "No! No, stop!" She was too late. Embercloud fell back, the sharp stone stabbed through her. Grayshadow trembled, fur bristling. Embercloud didn't deserve something like that. She tried to block out the noise, but she couldn't block out Embercloud's shriek of agony. Embercloud's patrol froze for a few seconds, but one of them yowled, "Retreat!" They fled back across the river on the stones. Grayshadow let out a strangled sound, looking at Embercloud's now limp body. She died the exact same way Firestorm had, being impaled by the sharp rock. Her legs buckled in, and she fell onto the ground. Her mind was blank, but soon rage boiled in her stomach. She couldn't move herself, but she let out another strangled wail. Her wailed eventually turned into shrieking, and she struggled to her paws. She turned her gaze onto Firestorm.

She yowled, "You! You killed her, you piece of fox-dung! I'LL KILL YOU!" She flung herself at the tom, lashing out with her claws in distress. She scored multiple wounds onto Firestorm, only focused on the rage that continued to build inside her. The stress of the death of the young kits, the assist in the death of Feathermist, the murder of Spiderstrike, and now Embercloud's death was too much, she had finally snapped. Firestorm began backing up, shock and anger in his eyes as the seething she-cat kept lashing at him. Grayshadow let out a choking sound as something hit the back of her neck, causing her to fall. Morningmist stood over her, and with a paw, knocked her on the side of the head.

Needless to say, she blacked out.

-skip 2 camp—

Grayshadow opened her eyes, feeling a heavy pressure on her back. The wound on her neck had opened again, and was bleeding onto the ground. Firestorm had one of his heavy paws on her back, he was speaking with Robinstar, and the rest of the clan was gathered around them, fear and confusion in their eyes as they stared at her. At _her_. She couldn't hear anything properly, but by the looks she knew that Firestorm and the others were talking about the fight and her attack on him. Moonlight said something, but it just sounded like gibberish. The clan murmured, and Moonlight stepped infront of her. Eyes wide in fake sympathy. Grayshadow tried to press down her anger. Moonlight was the cause for everything bad in her life. Everything! Grayshadow thrashed under the weight, snapping her teeth at Moonlight, not even trying to hide her rage from the clan. She managed to drag a foreleg out from under her own body, and lashed out, snagging Moonlight on her leg. Blood spilled onto her claws, and all she cared about now was getting free and teaching Moonlight a lesson. She managed to struggle free, but, before she could even lash out again, she blacked out again.

-ITS TIME FOR… SNAKEYS POV ; D—

Snakewhisk watched with wide eyes as Firestorm and his patrol, along with Moonlight, stepped into camp. Grayshadow, his mate, had a large wound on the side of her neck, which was dry and crusted with blood, but needed to be treated. She was swinging by her scruff in Firestorm's jaws, and he was all torn up, multiple wounds on his legs, face, chest, and ears. Firestorm dropped her on the ground, placing a heavy paw on her back. Robinstar stepped out of her den on the Sky Ledge, and growled, "What is this about?"

Firestorm raised his muzzle, "We met a patrol of three MarshClan cats that were attacking Moonlight and Grayshadow." He flicked his other paw at the wound on Grayshadow's throat and leg, and then to Moonlight's ear. One of the cats, Embercloud, I think, jumped at me, and naturally I fought back, but she fell onto one of the sharp rocks and died there. The others retreated, but this one," Snakewhisk let out a deep growl when he hit the she-cat on the side of the head, but Firestorm continued, "started freaking out and started lashing out at me, threatening to kill." Grayshadow's eyes flickered open, looking glazed over, but full of emotion.

Moonlight started up, "We've come to the conclusion that she's gone crazy, watch." The lithe silver she-cat padded over to the front of Grayshadow, crouching down to look her in the eye. Almost at once the gray cat's eyes filled in with rage and distress, and she started struggling. Moonlight moved to give the gray she-cat a reassuring lick between the ears, but Grayshadow, who had pulled her foreleg out from under herself, lashed out, scoring deep cuts into the silver she-cat's leg. Snakewhisk watched in shock as Grayshadow began snapping her teeth, and then let out a high-pitched shriek, tail sweeping across the floor and lashing out with her sharp claws. The clan broke out into nervous whispering, eyes wide with fear and worry. The cats in the crowd let shocked yowls when Grayshadow succeeded in struggling loose, but Firestorm quickly ended her freedom with a blow to the head, which knocked out the she-cat and she fell to the ground.

Snakewhisk broke through the crowd, running towards his mate. He was blocked however, by Robinstar. The tan she-cat had jumped down from her perch, blocking him from reaching the gray cat. Robinstar walked towards Grayshadow, and with a gentle paw, opened up her good eye. Grayshadow was still knocked out, but had the appearance she was awake with her fast breathing and twitching. Robinstar placed her paw back on the ground, shaking her head and looking into her mouth and pressing one paw on her nose. Robinstar looked up, "She's endured too much stress, it will be a long time until she stops acting so aggressive. Take her to the underground den by the medicine cat's den, and place a strong guard. If she were allowed to stay in the warriors den, who knows what would happen. Firestorm nodded, crossing the clearing and disappearing into the den.

Snakewhisk whispered, "Why is she acting like this? She was perfectly fine before!"

Robinstar shook her head, "There must have been some connection with her and Embercloud that caused her to give in to her insanity. But I don't know how they could be connected."

What surprised Snakewhisk was when Blackstream padded forward, and with a pained expression, whispered to both of them, "They're sisters, Grayshadow must have been under too much pressure before she died, and so when she did, she went insane. But I never thought they would be so close."

The sun began to set, casting long shadows across the camp, and Snakewhisk turned to walk into the warriors den, curling up in his nest, shutting his eyes tightly

-like 2 weeks laterish—

(now gray is about 4-5 weeks preggie bc she was achshully preggie halfway into her first moon and didn't realize it bc she didn't eat too much and was suppah skinny still. Yay 3 weeks to go xD. Let's hope she ent crazy when her kits come ;0)

Snakewhisk paced around the front of the den, he was the one set to guard Grayshadow now, and she was watching him pace around from inside the den with her single narrowed amber eye. The clan was still wary of her, and their distrust strengthened when a few days earlier, the last surviving kit of Feathermist got too close to the entrance and Grayshadow spat at it from her small den. After that incident, they placed a bramble barrier around the entrance, which prevented her from lashing out without earning a few wounds herself. Graceflower exited her den with borage leaves clamped in her jaws, as well as thyme. She dropped them through the barrier, and they slid down the tunnel, just like everything else they gave her, prey, water-soaked moss, and even scraps of clean moss to rebuild her own nest.

He jumped when she spoke, but he couldn't even hear her right. She was hissing and spitting out distorted words, and he heard her scratching at the walls of the den. Then she said something he could actually understand, "Snakewhisk?" He turned around to peer into the den, but she wasn't even talking to him, but staring at the wall. Then he finally noticed the foul scent of sickness.

He left his post for a short while, poking his head into the medicine cat's den, "Graceflower! Grayshadow is sick, really sick!" Shuffling wounded in the back of the den, and Graceflower followed him out of the den, more herbs clamped in her jaws. Snakewhisk bounded back over to the den when he saw that Grayshadow was poking her head out, causing terror in the cats inside camp. Snakewhisk felt a pang of horror as he looked at her, the she-cat was deteriorating, he eye was sunk deep back into her socket, her nose was cracked and dry, her fur was matted and hung off her face, the once beautiful and sparkling amber gaze was just a dull looking color, and she was terribly skinny. Her dead-looking eyes scanned around the camp, lingering on each cat for a short while.

The gray she-cat hunched over, the only thing that seemed familiar was her thick mane, but even that was clumped and dirty. He wrinkled his nose as the she-cat turned her head over to the side, and threw up, most likely ignoring the bramble thorns that scratched her skin. She looked again, before letting out a rasp, "They're not here yet. When will they come?" She shook her head, retreating back into the den. Snakewhisk slowly and gently moved the barrier aside, following Graceflower down into the tunnel. He tried to hold his breath, the scent was foul. All the new moss was pushed into the corner, the gray cat didn't even have a nest, the prey that was put down in the tunnel every day was in another corner, rotting away. He felt spooked when he saw the long claw marks down the walls of the den. Grayshadow had her back to them, and she looked awfully skinny, even though she was pregnant with five or more kits, she still looked like a warrior in leafbare. Her fur was hanging off her pelt, and claw marks on her flanks and legs.

She was spitting, "Why don't you come for me? I have nothing to live for here! I thought you hated me, Frostheart, so why don't you end my life here?!" She repeatedly yowled out, scoring deep marks in the walls.

Graceflower whispered, "She's insane. There's nothing we can do about it unless we have to force feed her prey and herbs, but that will be hard."

Snakewhisk shook his head slightly, "I never thought this would happen."

He had spoken a bit too loud however, and the she-cat turned around, revealing the wound on her neck. Snakewhisk nearly threw up, the cobwebs were hanging off of it, and it had dirt and shedding hair stuck in the dried blood, and the putrid scent of infection. The she-cat let out a loud yowl, teeth bared and claws unsheathed. She shrieked, "You're not them! Get away from me!" She lunged forward, but then collapsed with a shriek. She wrapped her paws over her head, trembling like a scared kit. Snakewhisk could guess why. Firestorm had gone down into the den, baring his teeth.

He turned on the two others, "What were you two thinking, going down here? You know she's crazy! Get out before she recovers from her fright!" Graceflower sprang out of the den, tail bushed. He followed suit, fearful of what the tom would do to the gray she-cat. There were a few angry yowls, then a high-pitched shriek of terror, and he tried to press back the urge to go back down.

-GRAY POV-

Grayshadow backed away from the ginger tom, bumping into a wall. He roared in anger, "What do you think you're doing?! You attacked your own clanmates, now you're down in this pit! You miserable ball of fur!" He lashed at her, whacking her on the side of the head. Because of her light weight, she was flung to the side, hitting her head on the side of the den. She screamed in terror, trying to find a place where she could be safe, away from him. Blood trickled from a fresh wound on her head. She flattened her ears and hunched up in a ball, wheezing. He approached her again, but she felt something burn in her stomach, and it _hurt_. She let out a low wail of pain, clutching her stomach. Firestorm spat at her, leaving the den. The burning pain continued, she was starting her kitting. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain. Soon, the first kit was out, and she began to groom it, the small kit was a sandy brown, with tiny gray paws.

Soon, the other kits were brought into the new world, the only noise she had made during her kitting were small whimpers or low wails, which didn't attract any attention. Her fur was bristling as she looked over her kits, five in total. Only one was moving, which was a tiny grayish-black she-kit, who had tiny white toes, as it tried to suckle for milk. There was none. The young warrior had kitted too early, four of five were dead, which made her heart shatter in pieces. Grief burned inside her, and she crashed through the bramble barrier, crying out in despair. Her guard, who was Robinstar herself, hadn't even heard her kitting. But she was now on her paws, ready to pounce on her. Grayshadow paced around the camp, staring up at the sky and yowling her grief at the stars, "Why don't you take me instead? They never deserved this!" She sucked in a sharp breath, "Is this your punishment for me?!" She dropped her gaze from the stars, which twinkled coldly above her. She immediately locked eyes with a silver she-cat, and she didn't even bother to remember the she-cat's name, but rage boiled inside her from the mocking look in her eyes.

She immediately turned on her, claws unsheathed. A single word rang in her head

 _Moonlight!_

She sprang at the she-cat, claws meeting fur. She clamped her jaws around her enemy's leg, biting down hard. She flailed her paws, which repeatedly snagged on fur and became damp with blood. Yowls of muffled horror rang around the clearing, but she was focused on the fight. She felt herself get thrown back, skidding across the dirt. Multiple dry wounds re-opened, causing fresh blood to flow down her flanks, neck, and legs. Another word

 _Grayshadow!_

This time the silver cat sprang at her, and she met her head on, clawing at the back of the cat. She ignored the blood that dripped onto her face, though it brought familiar wracks of pain and fear. Now she moved more stiffly. She raised a wide-spread paw, ready to crash it down on the other cat, who was laying sideways in the dirt.

 _STOP!_

The last word was full of rage, and it made her flinch back. Then everything came flooding back to her mind like a river. Names, what had happened, what she was doing. _Everything_. She bristled, backing away from the silver she-cat, Moonlight. Pain filled her with every step, and she trembled. She jumped when she bumped into something, soft, warm fur. Something she had never felt in a long time. She turned around, eyes widening in grief. Snakewhisk stood there, his eyes deep pools of sorrow. She let out a choking cry, burying her face in his soft fur. She let out a heavy sob, screwing her eyes shut tightly. She felt him tuck her in closer, curling his thick tail around her. He whispered, "It's alright. It'll be fine."

Grayshadow shook her head, then let out a half-wail half-sob, "T-They're dead! It doesn't matter at all anymore!" Snakewhisk didn't reply, but groomed her head, cleaning it from dirt and getting rid of the mats. Grayshadow broke away from him, stumbling towards the hole in the ground. She slid down the hole roughly, looking at the tiny kits. Only one was alive, the tiny little she-kit.

There were three other she-kits, and two toms. She nuzzled a gray tom, who was still warm to the touch, "Howlkit."

Another tom had an odd golden-colored pelt, with her features, a thick mane around his neck and a thin, tufted tail, "Lionkit."

The three she-kits were all bright white, except for one, who had golden spots, she named her Squirrelkit.

She looked at the two other white she-kits, "Skykit and Lightkit."

Then she licked her only alive she-kit, letting out the smallest of purrs as she kicked to bottom of her jaw with tiny hind legs, "And Snowykit."

With one paw, she dragged over a mouse, which had been given to her the night before. She took a bite, before realizing how starved she was, and began to eat in large mouthfuls. After she finished it, she chewed on the herbs that Graceflower had given her; though slower because they tasted horrid. She looked around the den, looking for and source of water. She patted all the moss she could find, but most of it was dryer than dirt. She let out a tiny sigh of relief when she pressed her paw into a wet pile of moss. Leaving her kits for a short while, she began lapping at it, drinking up all the water. She closed her eyes, feeling better than she had in moons. But, before she could even fall asleep, a loud yowl rang through the hollow

"ATTACK!"

 **AN: AHHHH WE ARE ALMOST DONE WITH THIS SERIES NOO ;O; I was waiting to write this chapter for like 500million years holy , guess whot clan in attacking tyvm**

 **ALSO, IM SOSOSOSO SORRY BUT THIS WHOLE STORY WAS PLANNED OUT BEFORE I EVEN FINISHED ABANDONED AHAA. Yes, Grayshadow did go mentally insane, and the "them" she was talking about were the cats that 'hated' her, or who she killed in her life. So yeah. SORRY MY LOVEMUFFINS.**


	10. Finale

Chapter 10

-FINALE- (maybe heheh)

Grayshadow stared through the tiny hole in the den, not a thing surprised her. What she had expected to happen had indeed happened. MarshClan cats flooded the hollow, but not a lot of them. She scanned the crowd, realizing that it was the warriors that trained in the Dark Forest. Thankfully, all cats were in the camp, ready to fight. Grayshadow took one fleeting glance at the young kits that she was curled around, even though only one remained alive. She packed moss around their tiny bodies, and then launched herself into the battle, though weak.

A loud snarl sounded above the cats, "Give us the kits!" The same black pelt; the glowing amber eyes. It was Shadowblaze, blood dripping down his chest. Grayshadow's eyes widened as she saw his victim. Robinstar was laying on the Sky Ledge, hanging half-way off, blood coating the area around her neck. She yowled in horror as Shadowblaze kicked the ailing she-cat off the ledge, a cold glint in his eyes. The she-cat hit the ground with a loud thud, lying still in the dirt. Grayshadow quickly dodged through the cats, frantically rushing the Robinstar's side. The she-cat was still, her green eyes dull and lifeless.

Robinstar let out a loud gasp, paws scrabbling on the ground. Her green eyes regained their shine, and the wound on her neck reduced, becoming a small wound that a kit could inflict. Robinstar hissed, "Grayshadow, Grayshadow. RUN!" Shadowblaze sprang down, and Grayshadow shuffled back, narrowing her eyes.

He snarled at Robinstar, raising his claws to inflict another death blow. Grayshadow hissed loudly, springing with all the force she could muster, long talons ready to dig into flesh. She hit her target, crashing right into the black tom. Her claws sunk in deep, blood spurting from the wound. They rolled, and eventually came to a halt. Grayshadow hissed as she was pinned down, tail sweeping. She looked right into his eyes, which were so cold and unwelcoming. He was so much different from when she last saw him. His mouth curled into an ugly smile, "Did you really think you could beat me? A weak she-cat like you?" He clawed at her face, drawing blood. She didn't flinch, the pain was nothing compared to what she had already endured.

She returned the smile, flashing her long fangs, "Weak? Don't you know how vulnerable you are right now?" She ducked her head down, grabbing a hold of one of his paws, biting down hard. She twisted her head back, bending it at an awkward angle. She raised her hind legs, tearing at his stomach with her claws, making deep wounds. Blood splattered onto her stomach, but this time, she was icily calm. One she heard a loud snap, she let go and sprang out from under him. Shadowblaze screeched in agony, taking one step, then falling to the side. His paw was broken, and his stomach torn and bleeding. The fighting continued; yowls ringing around the camp. He spat, "W-Where are the kits!?"

She stared at him, narrowing her eyes in cold hatred, "They're dead." She bounded away before he could answer. All cats were currently in battle. Moonlight, however, was pinned under two toms, who were practically 'mauling' the silver she-cat. Or so it seemed. The she-cat was pretending, no real wounds were on her pelt, just dried blood. Grayshadow sprang at one still, her claws digging into his shoulder. At the slightest pain, the tom shrieked and fled, tail tucked. The other ran too, spooked by her glares.

Moonlight rose to her paws, but instead of running off, she turned on Grayshadow. Grayshadow shrieked in surprise as she felt teeth dig into her throat. Pain made her cringe, but she still retaliated, clawing Moonlight over on her back. Her vision became blurry as Moonlight bit harder. She went limp, retracting her claws. Her mind was fuzzy and her head swam, everything hurt. She felt the ground, causing waves of pain to creep up her spine. Blood spilled out onto the sandy ground, soaking her pelt and staining the dirt. Moonlight stood over her, a wicked smile on her maw. Her vision was getting blurrier, but she saw something stand behind her, a black blur. It made a lop-sided jump, landing on Moonlight's back. Red blurs and suddenly Moonlight was on the ground next to her, the blurry red stain spread further, and black flames licked at the edges of her vision. Then she blacked out, all the pain fading away.

 _Grayshadow blinked, rising to her paws. She took a step forward, raising a paw to pat at her chest. There was no wound. High-pitched mews sounded, "Welcome to StarClan, mother!" Her five kits were lined up in front of her, their eyes wide and bright. She nearly jumped when something brushed her side. She looked, seeing a baffled Moonlight, but there was something different about her. Moonlight still had her wounds, and the one on her neck, which was a death blow. Grayshadow stepped toward her kits, licking each one on the head._

 _A pelt brushed her side, and a voice sounded in her ear, "You know what to say, sister." Grayshadow turned and looked into Embercloud's eyes, which shone bright like double suns._

 _Grayshadow looked to Moonlight, aware of StarClan cats gathering around her. The words came naturally to her, as she spoke, "Moonlight, for your crimes against the warrior code, and StarClan, we banish you to the Dark Forest." She took a step towards her, flicking her long tail. Grayshadow had already accepted the fact that she was dead, it was obvious. Moonlight stumbled forward, her blue eyes had a look of defeat in them, but they still had bitter hatred. The border had already shown up, the rotting bark emitting its gross scent. Her kits were following her, showing no trouble of keeping up. Falconeye and the other members were already at the border, ready to accept Moonlight into their ranks._

 _Falconeye looked at Grayshadow, "Will life in StarClan really be that great, my apprentice? Come with me, you'll have a greater future!" Grayshadow let her eyes flash, putting on a fake look of consideration. It sure fooled Falconeye when she stepped towards the border. Falconeye purred, "Good choice my dear. Leave those fo- " She was cut short as Grayshadow lashed out, acting from the calmness she had felt before. Falconeye fell to the ground, unmoving. No blood came from the wound, it was just a black gash, but it had the same effect as a normal wound. Soon the dark black color spread over Falconeye, until the she-cat faded away. The other members did as well, their cuts spreading and eventually making them dissolve into thin air._

 _Moonlight shrieked in rage, "You fox-heart Grayshadow, I'll make you pay!"_

 _Grayshadow narrowed her eyes, "You won't exist for that." Moonlight was fading away as well, and after a few moments, vanished into thin air. Even the trees and bushes began to disappear, being replaced with the tall familiar trees that grew in RainClan's territory. Howlkit squeaked, "You can go visit the camp, but you must restrain your presence." Grayshadow turned back, looking at all her kits before bounding into the forest, gracefully dodging all the brambles, until she made it to the camp. She stood by the entrance, forcing her visible self to become transparent, and then she went in, making the smallest of rustles. The battle had ended, and Graceflower was going around the camp, treating everyone. She sat down, watching the clan. A few were dead, and it wasn't long until she saw her own body, lying sideways in the dirt. Moonlight was there too, a snarl frozen on her face._

 _(im going to but this as normal font~)_

Grayshadow watched in pain as she saw Snakewhisk, who yowled, "Grayshadow!" Snakewhisk was hunched over her body, ears flat. Grayshadow took a step forward, wanting to comfort him. She mewed quietly into his ear, _It will be fine, for now, go see our kit. Protect her, don't let anything bad happen._ The tom looked up, grief in his eyes, but he went over to the spare den. Grayshadow closed her eyes, ready to return back to StarClan.

 _Grayshadow opened her eyes again, bounding up a hill, where everyone was waiting for her._

 _Petalwhisker purred, showing no signs of hate. "Welcome to StarClan, my daughter. Nothing will hurt you here"_

 **AN: IT IS DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. KINDA. We still have the epilogue of death and destruction ;**

 **Thank you guys soooo much for staying with me through this short story of Grayshadow.**

 **Heres some facts about the original story;**

 **-Grayshadow and Moonlight were originally not supposed to have a prophecy, and the clan just loved Moonlight because why noht**

 **-Grayshadow was originally named Grayhollow, but skrew deht ;**

 **-Moonlight was supposed to die from Grayshadow, who murders HER IN COLD BLOOD**

 **-Grayshadow was supposed to be evil**

 **-HERESAMESSEDUPONE!; In the original storyline, Firestorm was going to rape Gray. O shet.**

 **-Gray was supposed to kill a lot MORE PPLS**

 **-Grayshadow was based off my first cat, who we named Cambria. My cat was a black and gray bulleye tabby, but she had a rly long n plumy tail instead of the lion appearance.**

 **-HERES A FACT BOUT TH AUTHOR- The reason im so good at 'toying' with peoples emotions in the writing I have now Is because I have ADHD, s0 I gt really crazy and messed up ideas to write ;O**

 **-IF ANY OF YOU SAY I RIPPED OFF STORIES LIKE BLUE SHADOWS OR PROMISE; THERE ARE INDIDDLYDEE SIMILAR THINGS HERE. But, thisn whole story was planned out beFRE I read those two stories. So choke on that :**

 **-Love, BouncyTigerz**

 **(ASK QUESTIONS QUEESTIONSNSNSNSN. I WILL ANSWER AS MANY AS POSSIBLE IN NEXT CHAP WHEN GREYSHADOW DUS SOM INTENSE STUFFS)))**

 **Qotd: Another book? YES OR NO ANSWER MEH PLS I say yes bc I have the whole next story planned too hahaa.**


	11. Epilogue

**BN: ASK QUESTIONS ASK ASK ASKKKKKK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORY 4 MEH 2 ANSWER IN TH NEXT CHAP PLS N THENK U**

 **Heres a fam tree:**

 **Story X Haiku = Grass X Pebblemist = Howlstorm and Wingstorm X Hollowheart = Stormkit Rainkit and Shadowheart X Owlnose = Paledove X Shellmist = Petalwhisker X Icestar = Embercloud Grayshadow X Snakewhisk/star = Howlkit, Lionkit, Squirrelkit, Skykit, Lightkit, Snowy? X ? = ? (Hollowheart X Shallownose = Robinkit and Feathermist X Frostheart X Flinteyes = Graykit Creekkit and Moonlight X Sneeze = ?)**

 _Epilogue_

Robinstar stood on the Sky Ledge, scanning her clan, beaten and bloody. She half-slid, half-fell down the steps; ready to check on all the cats that were lying in the clearing. A low wail of grief rang around the camp

"Grayshadow!"

Snakewhisk, a young warrior, was hunched over a gray and black cat, and her heart broke in two at the sight of the tom grieving over his dead mate. Suddenly, Snakewhisk looked up, eyes wide in surprise, heading to the spare den. Now it was her turn to grieve. She looked down at the body of the young warrior Grayshadow, but something was off. Moonlight was facing Grayshadow, both were dead. Shadowblaze, the tom who had taken one of her lives, was lying there, dead behind Moonlight. Slowly, her mind pieced it together.

Moonlight had succeeded in killing her sister, but Shadowblaze had attacked and killed Moonlight before dying of his own wounds. She was snapped out of her thinking when a thin mewl rang around the camp, echoing in the silence. It startled everyone; multiple cats looked up when Snakewhisk crawled out of the den, carrying a mewling ball of fur in his jaws. The tom set the kit down, lowering his head to lick her between the ears, "Grayshadow gave birth to her kits while we didn't know, and this was the last one alive." The tom had a pained look in his eyes, the words causing him grief. Then he murmured, "Her name is Snowykit." Robinstar felt a tug in her chest, and she shivered, heading towards the medicine cat's den, she was on her last life, and if she wounds got infected, then it would be over. When she entered, she nearly choked at what she saw. Dovefeather was lying on her side, dead. She needed to perform the deputy ceremony immediately; she felt something would happen soon as the tug in her chest strengthened.

She let her voice ring around the hollow, "Cats of RainClan, we grieve for our dead, but a new deputy must be appointed. I say these words over the body of Dovefeather." She looked at the brown tom with the young kit between his legs, "Snakewhisk, will you do the honor of being my deputy?"

His head shot up, shock clear in his eyes, before replying, "It would be a great honor, Robinstar. I will accept the position."

~time skip~

Snakewhisk sighed, Robinstar's wounds were severe, and the she-cat was ailing, clinging onto the last thread of her life. He had been deputy for only a quarter-moon, and each day Robinstar got worse. He paced around the medicine cat's den, waiting for Graceflower to announce Robinstar's condition.

He jumped when Graceflower finally emerged, a defeated look in her eyes, "Robinstar has gone to join our ancestors."

Snakewhisk's eyes widened, a low groan escaped his lips. He was too young to lead.

She turned to him, "You are our new leader. The gathering will be tomorrow night; we must go immediately to get your nine lives." Snakewhisk could only nod numbly, so many cats had died in their past battles, and now Robinstar was dead.

The camp was so small now, the only other cats being Rowanflame, Graceflower, Ambergaze, Leopardleaf, Windheart, and Bramblestorm. Windheart's kits were to be apprenticed in a few days. Blackstream was in the nursery, caring for Snowykit and Creekkit, who was Feathermist's kit. Brokenwing had joined Whiskerstone in the elder's den, and now he was their new leader.

He took in a breath, "Let's go."

~time skip 2~

Snakewhisk stood in front of the tall tree, eyeing the deep scratches in the bark. Graceflower mewed, "Climb up the tree and sleep, and your ancestors will speak to you." Snakewhisk didn't say anything, only hauled himself up the tree. He curled up in the branches, closing his eyes to sleep.

 _Snakewhisk opened his eyes to see a starry clearing. Nine stars twinkled in front of him, slowly spreading into the shapes of cats. Stars shimmered in their eyes, a glowing light surrounded their whole bodies, fur shiny and elegant._

 _They all spoke at the same time, "Welcome, Snakewhisk. Are you ready to receive your nine lives?"_

 _Snakewhisk swallowed hard, "Yes."_

 _The first cat stepped forward. She was a small white she-cat, her paws and face tinted gray. She mewed, "My name is Haiku, you may not know who I am, but we are well acquainted" She touched her nose to his, "I give you a life of acceptance, use it to cherish others, and make sure no cat is looked down upon." Pain wracked through his body, and he gritted his teeth. Feelings of familiar sights coursed through him, ears getting torn, being thrown from the ground, a heavy, crushing weight. Then it was all over, and he was left a trembling mess._

 _He winced,_ How am I going to survive eight more?

 _A blue-gray tom stepped forward, his eyes glowing in pride._

 _Snakewhisk choked out, "S-Stormbird?" (I didn't mention this, but stormy is snake, ivy, and bramble's dad)_

 _Stormbird purred, "It is I" He quickly touched noses with his son, "I give you the life of strength. Use it to win battles for your clan, to stay on all four paws no matter what happens." The pain in this life wasn't as severe as the other, and he shut his eyes and endured it. Blood roared in his ears as he heard the shrieking and snarling of battle._

 _He opened his amber eyes, feeling new-found strength fill through him. Stormbird stepped back and another cat came forward._

 _Ivypaw._

 _The gray-and-white she-cat looked at him, her green eyes twinkling in amusement. She craned her neck forward, bumping his nose roughly, "With this life I give you humor, use it to be a good and fun leader." This life didn't hurt at all, he was filled with warm and bubbly happiness. Ivypaw bounded back to the cats, her tail swishing. He didn't see the next cat._

 _A high-pitched squeak came from below him, "Down here!"_

 _A scruffy dark gray kit looked up at him, her amber eyes wide and star-filled. Snakewhisk crouched down, and the tiny kit bumped his nose, stumbling. She squeaked, "With this life I give you a determination, use it to care for your clan, you are a like a parent to all of them."_

 _A fierce ferocity rushed through him, and a scene came through his mind._

 _He was crouching down, protecting something from an enemy. An invisible one. Rage and anger raced through his whole body._

 _He was snapped out of his trance as quickly as it came._

 _He closed his eyes; there were five more to go._

 _A tail brushed his muzzle, and a sandy she-cat looked at him, her eyes bright._

 _He whispered, "Robinstar?"_

 _Robinstar just gave a nod, touching his nose. She whispered, "With this life, I give you bravery. Use it to tackle down the strongest of your enemies." Pain coursed through him, as if it were all the pain he and his clanmates had endured all in one, wearing down his pelt to a bloody mess. When he opened his eyes, the pain faded to a tolerable ache._

 _Four more._

 _A black tome stepped forward, and it was hard to resist a deep growl. It was Shadowblaze._

 _His eyes shone with understanding, and he dipped his head, "I regret everything I did, but, accept this life, for your clan." The black tom quickly touched his nose, "With this life, I give you loyalty; use it to keep your clan in check, and to not betray them in any way."_

 _Pride rushed through him, giving energy to every part of his body. But then regret weighed heavily down on him, as if something were pulling him back. The illusion quickly faded away._

 _Three more to go._

 _Two black and gray she-cats stepped forward, twin amber eyes. The first one touched his nose, "My name is Petalwhisker, I give you a life of appreciation. Accept whatever you get, don't shrug off a small bit of prey if it's 'too small'. Appreciate everything you get, even if it only lasts a while."_

 _The other stepped forward, "I'm Embercloud, surely you're familiar with me." She touched his nose, leaving a cold feeling, "With this life, I give you wits. Make sure you're quick and not too arrogant. Don't be tricked by anything."_

 _Snakewhisk felt the rush of battle, dodging an enemy's sharp claws and snapping teeth. With one quick blow, his enemy was sent running across the border._

 _This was his last life, he knew._

 _The last cat stepped forward, five tiny kits jumped around her paws, and a purr rumbled in her throat. It was Grayshadow. Snakewhisk nearly choked, new grief flooding through him. She walked forward elegantly, even though the kits were jumped around her paws. Love filled her eyes, and she touched noses with him. She purred, "With this life, I give you love, use it to care for every cat that will ever come your way." Pain filled him; agony ripped a screech from his throat._

 _Grayshadow whispered, "Endure it."_

 _The pain didn't go away, he was feeling everything_

 _He didn't realize what it was until his right ear was being torn. He was experiencing all the pain that Grayshadow had felt in her life._

 _Several emotions coursed through him._

 _Anger, Greif, Betrayal, Depression, Insanity, and finally, Love._

 _Then it stopped, it came to a sudden halt, and he finally managed to open his eyes._

 _All the cats stood in front of him._

 _They meowed in sync, "You are now Snakestar, and your old life is no more. You are the leader of RainClan."_

 _Chanting filled the clearing, more StarClan cats emerged from the trees, "Snakestar! Snakestar!"_

Snakestar opened his eyes, dawn light filtered through the tree's branches.

He jumped down from his roost, Graceflower following.

He was Snakestar, leader of RainClan, and he would lead his clan to the fullest.

~Gray P.O.V~

 _Grayshadow watched the newly named Snakestar fade away, as she sat contentedly with her kits jumping around her._

 _Howlkit, the youngest, mewed, "Mama?"_

 _She purred, "Yes, son?"_

 _He looked up at her, blue eyes wide, "Can you tell us a story?"_

 _All her kits stopped tussling and crowded to the front of her, "Yeah! Tell us a story! Please?"_

 _She purred, "Alright."_

" _It all started on one leaf-fall night…"_

 **AN: IT IS FINISHED OHHHH MYYYY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. I never thought I would ever finish another story! Snowykit's story will prolly take a while to start because I want to do another Cliché storyyyyyYYYY WHICH IS ABOUT A CAT BORN WITH WINGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS WHO CAN FLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.**

 **Well shoutout to you all for staying with me this long, ask questions and I will answer with in the next chapter/AN log**

 **Peace,**

 **BouncyTigerz.**


	12. AN and Gathering

**AN AND GATHERING**

 **Replying to all the reviews from chaps 10-11 here ;**

 **Ivysky820- Thanks for saying this was so amazing ;w; This is actually the shortest story I've ever written, but I will be sure to write a sequel soon!**

 **Cinderblaze of Thunderclan- Great to know I'm not the only one with it hehe xD**

 **Amberfoot Warriors wizard- But is it really life, o R IS IT THE MATRIX**

 **Shadowfang- Why did they both die? – I guess I can say this, originally, Grayshadow was going to be a murderer (other clan leaders knew, but Robinstar didn't believe them) and after Moonlight received the deputy position, she was going to go kill her. After killing Moonlight, a patrol sees her, and they take her down and drag her back to the camp, where Fireshit(storm) kills her. bUUUT in this story line, the reason they both died is because the prophecy "** _ **At night the Shadows are more useful, but the Moonlight is a Curse."**_ **and this,** _ **"If she cannot change her path, blood will be spilled in Moonlight's wake"**_ **The 'shadows' are referring to Grayshadow and Shadowblaze, and of course Moonlight is the Moonlight. At the end, the 'Shadows' team up with eachother, being the 'Shadows are more useful' since the attack is around the evening. But, with Moons side of the prophecy, her being a Curse is referring to all Moonlight's time in the Dark Forest, so her soul is corrupted (since the DF does do that) And the 'If she cannot change her path, blood will be spilled in Moonlight's wake" Is meaning that the 'blood' is Shadowblaze and Grayshadow, but it being spilled in her** _ **wake**_ **means that she too, will die. I hope that cleared it up ^w^**

 **Starlight's Silver Dance- Yeah, I might have wanted to put it as M, but I decided to remove it after I wrote it cause ickcickickcick (The rape scene was supposed to happen after Firesotrm found out Gray was in a forbidden relationship. And I willllll be writing the sequel soosoon, Im currently writing the first chapter .w.**

 **Echofoot2673- Ahhhhh! Every timei get one of thse reviews I squeal and flail ;w; Thank you soooo much for staying here the whole time and reviewing on these chapters! I will be doing a sequel with Snowykit and Creekkit, and also another cliché story bc why not?**

 **Silverheart the Cat- rip in paparonees greyshadow**

 **WITHOUT ANY ADUEEEEEE- LETS START THE GATHERING!**

Snakestar sighed; he had made a big decision. The clan was going to attend the gathering, but all of them. He didn't want to risk another huge attack on the camp like before. Even the meager amount of the while clan was small enough to look like a gathering patrol. He raised his tail, and meowed solemnly, "Before we go, I will need to appoint a new deputy." He locked gazes with someone in the crowd, "Firestorm, will you do the honor of being our new deputy?"

Firestorm raised his head, the shock clear in his gaze. He rumbled, "I accept, thank you for the offer." The large ginger tom bounded up to him, despite the heavy limp in his leg. The clan set off, all following a good few tail-lengths back. Firestorm lowered his head, and spoke to Snakestar in a hushed voice, though it was still deep, "Why did you pick me, of all cats? After what I did to her."

Snakestar replied, to question didn't startle him, he was expecting it, "I chose you because you are strong and loyal, the other clans will see that at a sign that we aren't weak."

What surprised him was Firestorm's response. The big tom let out a sigh, "You had a good mate Snakestar, I can at least say once I did like that she-cat." His eyes had a pained expression, "Every time I tried to convince myself I wasn't and I started to act aggressive. Every time I hurt her, it just brought more pain, and when you announced you were going to be a father, took all my anger out on her, and I regret every bit of it." The tom's voice cracked, "Even when we all questioned her loyalty, she never faltered, every time she snapped back at me I found myself trying to stay quiet and do it less often. But then, then the border skirmish, when I killed Embercloud, s-she had never attacked me so savagely before, it was so startling. I still hate myself for doing it." Snakestar watched as the tom spilled out everything to him, then he reached the end, "And now she's dead, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.."

Snakestar flattened his fur, and then spoke, "I hope this is a relief to you actually, being able to tell a cat everything that happened, and how you really felt. I have a respect for you, Firestorm. Be glad." They had reached the hollow during their talk, and he flicked his tail for the clan to stop. He faced the clan, "The kits and queens will go to the shelter of the bushes, make sure no-one from MarshClan sees the kits. Windheart and Blackstream nodded, quickly ushering the kits over to the heavy thicket of bramble bushes. Snakestar flicked his tail, and the cats of his clan rushed into the clearing, almost immediately mingling with friends from other clans. Snakestar bounded up to the giant rock where the leaders announced the news. Leafstar and Icestar were there. Soon, a loud yowl sounded and Mossystar joined them.

The young she-cat dipped her head to Snakestar, and then mewed "Where is Robinstar?"

Snakestar dipped his head to her as well, "Robinstar has gone to join our ancestors." Mossystar touched his shoulder with her tail in sympathy, then faced the crowd.

Snakestar made the first move, his voice loud, "Let the Gathering begin!"

He let Mossystar go first.

The she-cat spoke, "ThunderClan is doing well, the night are getting colder, but prey still runs well in our territory. We have two new apprentices, Brightpaw and Lionpaw!"

Chanting filled the clearing, but then died down.

Snakestar stepped forward, ready to announce the solemn news, "Prey is running well in our territory, and kits are to be apprenticed soon, but there is bad news. During an attack on our camp at night, we lost many warriors. Dovefeather, Morningmist, Flinteyes, Moonlight, Robinstar, and one other I don't want to mention." He felt a pang in his chest, "Care to explain, Icestar?"

The white tom stepped forward, defeat in his gaze. The tom rasped, "Many of our warriors hd fallen corrupt to the Dark Forest, I did not plan this attack. All who were guilty in leading the attack were exiled. The only way we would have know if it weren't for the ones who turned away from that StarClan-forsaken forest!" Then his blue gaze flicked over to Snakewhisk, "Who was it you didn't want to say. I think we deserve to know."

Snakestar closed his eyes, "Fine. Our last fallen was Grayshadow." Icestar's eyes widened, and the white tom took a step away from the other leaders.

Snakestar spoke again, "Feathermist has also died, for multiple crimes against the warrior code, Robinstar had killed her." He scanned his clan, "On a lighter note, Grayshadow had her kits before she died, and we now have Snowykit as part of our clan." He stepped back, ready for the other leaders to speak

~o~

The end Of story

ACKSHULY; heres how to story was going to end when I had it planned as a 20-30 chap story;

-ENDING SCENE-

Grayshadow ducked underneath Moonlight, growling under her breath. Her belly was heavy and swollen with her kits. Moonlight was jealous that she had received the deputy position, and was attacking her in the middle of the forest. Grayshadow raised a paw, unsheathed claws raking the underside of Moonlight's belly. Moonlight howled in pain, her leap faltering and she crashed to the ground. Moonlight struggled to her paws, blood dripping from her belly wound. Moonlight crashed into her, jaws opened to bite her throat. Grayshadow shoved her paws up, pushing Moonlight's muzzle away. She lashed out with her long claws, catching Moonlight's face. Moonlight shrieked as her claws scratched over her eyes, practically blinding the young she-cat. Moonlight hissed, lashing out a paw. Grayshadow hissed at she tore a ragged wound across her neck. Grayshadow snarled, lashing out her own paw and tearing open Moonlight's throat. The she-cat let out a gurgling cry, before growing limp. The scent of death blew up her nostrils, making her gag.

Her wounds stung like fire, but Moonlight was dead, and the prophecy was fulfilled. She started to scrape at the ground when she was tackled, and she wheezed in pain. The cat who attacked her screeched, "Murderer!" She groaned in pain as her attacker's paws stabbed into her belly. Then she shrieked in alarm, kicking off the cat. She puffed, holding her paw over her belly protectively. She knew she was near kitting, and pushing herself too hard could lead to the death of her kits. She wasn't surprised at who was in front of her. Feathermist.

Grayshadow hissed, "I didn't want to do it!" She flattened her ears, tail lashing.

Feathermist hissed, "Liar!" She lunged at her, teeth snapping at her throat. Grayshadow snarled, knocking Feathermist to the ground with her paw, force increased by her weight. Feathermist lunged back up, burying her own throat into Grayshadow's claws. Feathermist let out a choking cry, and her blood sprayed from the wound, drenching Grayshadow's paw in it. Grayshadow leapt back in shock, shaking out her paw onto the grass. At her moment of hesitance, Morningmist lunged forward, claws unsheathed, teeth dug into her throat. Morningmist held her down, claws pricking at her throat, and then she yowled, "Firestorm! Don't you want to kill this traitorous fox-dung?"

Firestorm staked forward, lip curled, claws unsheathed, "Greatly."

She writhed in pain as Firestorm struck her belly, hard. She curled into a ball, hissing, "Kit-killer."

Firestorm growled into her ear, "Remember our deal?"

She hissed back at him , "Shadowblaze is dead! I don't care anymore!" She struggled as he repeatedly struck her on her belly, or across the face. She peeked open with her eye, seeing Snakewhisk staring at her, betrayal and confusion in his eyes. She hissed in pain as Firestorm dealt the deadly blow, lashing his claws across her neck. She recognized the attack. She hissed, "Go on, and leave me out here to a painful death. I won't even feel it. I've been dead on the inside for so long, its like I'm just an empty shell." Firestorm sneered at her, whisking around and grabbing Moonlight's body. Grayshadow wasn't being truthful to what she told Firestorm. Pain burned on her neck wound. He gave her the death blow she had once given to a certain SwiftClan tom, where it made your foe too weak to move as they bled out. Morningmist followed Firestorm, tugging along Feathermist's body. She was left alone with Snakewhisk.

Snakewhisk neared her, whispering, "Why? Why would you kill a cat from your own clan?" His eyes showed so much anger; it felt like they were burning through her.

Grayshadow rasped, blood streaming from her mouth, "It was all because of a prophecy." She paused to cough painfully, curling into a tighter ball, "Starclan always gave me signs, to kill Moonlight, hence the 'Moonlight is a curse' and 'If she cannot change her path, blood will be spilled in Moonlight's wake.'" She wheezed, "They just killed an innocent queen expecting the deputy's kits."

Pain wracked her, and she coughed painfully, blood splattering onto the grass below. She whispered, "Make it stop." Her eyes were glazed over in pain. Snakewhisk stared at her, shock and guilt on his face. She knew what the pain that wracked her body was. She was kitting. The pain burned from her eartips to the very tip of the last hair on her tail. Since she kitted before, it was done quickly. Two kits were by her side. One dead. The other looked exactly like her, mewling for milk, while the other had her body features, but Snakewhisk's looks. They were both she-kits. Grayshadow groaned in pain, the wound to her throat was bleeding heavily, especially because of the cries of pain from birth. Grayshadow wailed to Snakewhisk , "Make It stop, it hurts Snakewhisk. It hurts!"

Snakewhisk licked her on the shoulder, "I know, I know it hurts, It'll be over soon. I promise." She pulled her only surviving kit closer to her with a paw, licking it clean, ignoring the pain that burned in her throat.

She whispered to her surviving kit, "Pebblekit." She felt a pang of grief; she named her daughter her original name. Then, with all her strength, pulled her stillborn she-kit toward her, and mewed weakly, "Marshkit." Black flames began to lick at the corners of her vision, and her gaze grew blurry. She whispered feebly, "Snakewhisk, take care of our kits." She felt the rest of her life drain out of her body, and she went limp on the grass, ready to join StarClan.


	13. alert

**Heya guys! I've taken the advice from some of your reviews and decided to rewrite the story. It will update alot slower since I'm stockpiling a new story and I want to start up Lion of the Ruins back up soon. It was posted though May 27th ((exactly a year after the publishing of this one!))**

 **So if you want to read it, it's up with four chapters up ^^**


	14. announcement

ok so i finally got access to ffn from a computer, but this isn't going to last very long.

All my stories are going on hiatus for a few days or longer, i have no idea when I am going to get a new laptop or pc. My old laptop finally kicked the bucket after eight years so I lost almost all my progress on everything.

I'll try to upload new chapters to my stories as soon as possible but I cannot confirm that they are coming any time soon

\- noodles


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